


The Dark Heir

by yawnnnn



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Dangan Ronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Alternative Universe - Kingdom, Developing Friendships, Eventual Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hinata Hajime and Kamukura Izuru Share a Body Simultaneously, Kamukura Izuru Has Feelings, Kamukura Izuru Is Bad At Feelings, Komaeda Nagito Is Not Ill, Komaeda Nagito's Luck Cycle, M/M, Parental Tojo Kirumi, Prince Kamukura Izuru, Prince Komaeda Nagito, Princes & Princesses, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:27:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 54,954
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26639545
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yawnnnn/pseuds/yawnnnn
Summary: “That was all the names of  people in all of the five kingdoms that are either wealthy or noble. Out of all of those, you were the one that was chosen at random, the sole person who will have a chance to even attempt courting the king. Therefore, I extend this invitation to you as the Kamukura castle’s honored guest and worker. So, do you accept it, or do you need some time to consider?”-Kamukoma Medieval AU- read beginning note for schedule issuesIn which Nagito ends up working at a castle to win the hand in marriage of someone he's never met, at least not yet.
Relationships: Daimon Masaru & Kemuri Jataro & Shingetsu Nagisa & Utsugi Kotoko, Kamukura Izuru & Tojo Kirumi, Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito, Koizumi Mahiru & Saionji Hiyoko, Komaeda Nagito & Mioda Ibuki, Komaeda Nagito & Saionji Hiyoko, Komaeda Nagito & Tojo Kirumi, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 142
Kudos: 251





	1. Scarlet Pillows and Invitations

**Author's Note:**

> ***3/2/21 - Fic update schedule notes - I keep disappointing my readers by promising I'll update every two weeks and then getting hit with writers block and being unable to fulfill that quota. I'm also moving into newer fandoms and while my interest in Kamukoma and this fic isn't dead and I am NOT going to abandon it, it's a little harder to write than usual.
> 
> I hope those who are still invested in this fic will continue reading, but I'll only be updating whenever I cn until I can manage to get chapters written ahead of time. The content quality will stay as good as I can keep it, as I'm trying to keep each chapter relatively the same length and effort put in. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!***
> 
> This is going to be my first long running series, Kamukoma or Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito centric. It's going to be at least 20 chapters, we'll see where it goes. Depending on how I feel about chapters, I may rewrite them. 
> 
> Inspired by Prince & Prince by Authoress
> 
> I hope you enjoy, I love you, take care of yourself!

It was a dark summer day, August 14th in fact, that the young eight year old found himself tucked inside a carriage, along with his parents. He sat comfortably on a mountain of pillows and blankets and of stuffed animals and toys, all in the midst of servants and suitcases. He couldn’t quite grasp why they had been moving to Havoc of all places, but it didn’t seem like much of a hassle to arrive there, so he didn’t mind it. 

His parents weren’t necessarily royalty, but they were overwhelmingly wealthy, allowing little Nagito to live a life of leisure and ease. He was constantly reminded that he should consider himself lucky, and consider himself lucky he did. 

Nagito had been pampered since birth, but he wasn’t completely unaware of the world. His school peers had made it perfectly clear that he was in a better situation than they were, and even one glance at the street could give you proof of that. Luck certainly seemed to be on his side, and that hadn’t changed at all since birth. Although, in other times, he wondered what kind of luck someone who was born royalty of one of the five kingdoms must have.

A rustling was heard as the strange man in armor rushed in, grabbing his parents and hurriedly directing them to the exit, waving his arms at little Nagito who just tilted his head at all the panic. His father soon rushed back in, scooping the boy in his arms and running outside, where there were several men and women clad in black surrounding the carriage. His mother’s green dress was torn, his father hugging and protecting the both of them. 

Suddenly frightened of the situation, he grasped at the wrinkled shirt of his father, tears starting to blur his vision. His parents were busy bombarding the people in black with questions, but he couldn’t bother to understand a word of what they were saying. All he got from them is that they were apparently here from the ‘Kuzuryu Clan’, hired to…

kill his parents?

All he could remember from there was him attempting to let out a scream, only to be blocked by his father's own hand. He was left there, the guard taking him away when he tried to run back to them, until it was all he could do to struggle, scream, and shut his eyes tight. It was a flashing light that finally pried them open and then he saw a blazing circle trailing through the sky, a fading streak behind it. After a minute, or a few seconds-- he couldn’t really tell anymore-- the coachman came running to him and the guard, yelling that they had been saved by some small part of a meteor crashing to the ground. 

He couldn’t believe it.

Nagito ran after the coachman, tears flying through the air and a smile on his face. His feet smashed against the hard dirt, and the trees didn’t seem to stand in his way as he ran with his arms outstretched to the carriage. 

He couldn’t believe it.

When he arrived, his parents' bodies were dead on the ground, the scarlet staining the grass and fluffy pillows that had fallen out of the carriage.

\---

It had been ten years since August 14th, the day when his luck had betrayed him.

Now, he was still fortunate as far as he was concerned, but at the same time, unfortunate. After his parents and the group of members of the Kuzuryuu clan were killed, he had successfully moved to Havoc in the matter of a year. The mansion was huge; he could tell that he would’ve had such a wonderful time in there with his parents, but alas, he should be grateful for the expensive house in the first place. 

Nagito had broken it down to a science, an explanation for the wild jungle of his life events, and it all ended up returning to one concept. Luck.

His luck blessed him, creating opportunities and bonuses for him that the mass majorities of the kingdoms were not able to even catch a glimpse of. But as he had learned those ten years ago, while great luck brings hope, it is only inevitable to be followed by despair. For, as he had come to find out, his extreme fortune came with a price, and that price was extreme misfortune on his part. As an example, after his parents took their last breath, he was rewarded with their money, which was followed by all their businesses going bankrupt by some nightmarish set of events.

Well, aside from his luck, the kingdom of Havoc was certainly interesting. There were five kingdoms, but he only knew three of them in depth.

The first was his birth kingdom, Jabberwock. It was a kingdom on the coast of a massive land area, encompassing islands in the land it owned. He hadn’t been born on an island, but his parents used to own farm systems there, rewarding them with lots of riches and profit that Nagito inherited. Jabberwock took pride in the intelligence of its people. Its scientists made revolutionary discoveries in dozens of fields, calling themselves the Neo World Scientists. Some of the most well known ones he’d heard of was the young teenager Miu Iruma, and her ever loyal assistant Kiibo. There were many theories that his wild imagination loved to entertain, such as the ones that Kiibo was truly a manmade assistant by her, but one could only hope. Due to the nature of his country, Nagito had grown up surrounded by professors, research buildings, and great libraries carved in marble that seemed to hold all the knowledge the world would ever need. Although, as he would expect from someone as useless as he was, he could never quite absorb all this knowledge into his mind. When it came to royalty, Jabberwock kingdom was ruled by the Neverminds, an esteemed family that had actually come in to take over from a foreign country hundreds of years ago. That explained why the members of the family acted so odd, the strange culture in the castle leaking into their personalities. As far as he knew, the Neverminds only had one daughter, her graciousness Sonia, who had frequently been seen about the streets with the traveler and adventurer Gundham Tanaka.

Another was Havoc, the kingdom where his mansion was located. Havoc had been founded from great war and death hundreds of years ago, where six generals and rulers from the warring countries had united and agreed to accept each other’s differences. These six moved on to found a new country from the devastation of countless battlefields, and had succeeded in creating a peaceful land of acceptance. He knew the names of all six of them, even what their supposed personalities were, at least in the history books. There was Aoi Asahina, the friendly princess who grew up by the ocean like he did. Another was Yasuhiro Hagakure, a general famous for predicting the outcome of the battles he fought by pure guessing, something others found extremely impressive. Another was the extremely insane yet impressive front line warrior, Toko Fukawa, known for being deliriously brutal in a battle with a handsome man, and yet shy outside the front lines. Then came the more important ones, one being the former prince Byakuya Togami, an apparently self centered man who only agreed to help build the kingdom due to his being in ruins. The next being the first queen of Havoc, Kyoko Kirigiri, who found a clever way to end the war and settled down with Makoto Naegi afterwards. Makoto Naegi, the first king of Havoc, and his personal favorite of the six, was a naive prince that was apparently extremely lucky, similar to Nagito. Nagito greatly admired Makoto, only for the reason that Makoto only had pure good luck, not bad like him.

The third one he had gone into depth studying, its culture being the oddest of them all. Kingdom Kamukura, whose origins were shrouded in mystery. The conspiracy behind its founding was of two twin sisters who lived at the same time as the six founders of Havoc. These twins had supposedly been the cause of this mass war between nations, pulling the strings from behind the scenes. They then went on to form the chaotic kingdom of Kamakura, with nonsensical laws and insane traditions. However, the part that Nagito was most interested in was their royalty. He would never forget the day the news had spread that the kings of Kamukura had been assassinated by the Kuzuryuu clan before they managed to adopt and raise an heir. The kingdom had gone into calamity, fighting for who would take the spot. And then, mysteriously, emerged a figure confirmed by the royal palace to be the true inheritor of the crown, what was known as the dark heir. Their name, appearance, and gender were not only hidden from foreign countries, but also the kingdom of Kamakura itself. After the course of a year, the majority of ridiculous laws were changed, and the kingdom was seemingly running almost perfectly, aside from the occasional riots that were quieted down almost too suspiciously.

The other two kingdoms he didn’t have as much background knowledge on, and yet they were still an important part of the world he lived in. 

The fourth kingdom was Horseb, a harmonious kingdom that just happened to have a high crime rate. On the outside, it looked happy and peaceful, but it was also the main territory of the Kuzuryuu clan, along with many criminals and criminal organizations crawling about at night. Horseb was ruled by her honourable Kaede Akamatsu, who was proficient in piano, but not so much at controlling her kingdom. The kingdom had the need to hire many detectives to solve murders and other crimes, the culprits even being royalty sometimes. There were famous detective families, such as the Kirigiri family (they were descendents of the Havoc founder Kyoko Kirigiri), and the Saihara family, but all he knew is their detectives were instructed to have no pity for those who broke the law. 

Then there was the fifth and final kingdom, Towa kingdom. This kingdom had once been great, founded by the general Toko Fukawa and Makoto’s little sister Komaru Naegi, who had fallen in love slowly after they first met. Unlike the golden age it had before, the birth rates had soared in this kingdom as of late, causing there to be an abundance of talented and yet uneducated children, as some of them were orphans. As far as he knew, the children were being pushed too hard by the aging adults to be successful, the adults more worried about the future of the kingdom then their children's well being. He harbored ill will towards the current king of Towa, Haiji Towa, for allowing this to happen, living nothing but a leisurely life and not worrying about the needs of his kingdom at all. 

Stopping his train of thought before it went too far, Nagito walked to the main lobby to get a cup of milk, or at least something like that. He spent most of his time there, not really seeing much of a use in the other rooms, and not wanting to get lost in the countless hallways. Plus, the main lobby was always adorned with beams of warm sunlight, highlighting the dust particles to create a beautiful atmosphere. He truly did appreciate pretty things, so the main lobby fit his needs just fine. He had one or two personal servants, but he usually sent them home until it was time to cook the next meal, as he preferred to pass the time by doing the cleaning himself as busywork. So, he decided to dust the white fireplace and leather couches off until he was satisfied, then most likely crash on the couch in some hope of having even a couple hours of sleep. 

\---

Nagito woke up to the ringing of his doorbell, and quickly straightened out the wrinkles in the clothes he had fallen asleep in. Brushing some of his fluffy white bedhead to the side, he turned the doorknob to be greeted by an unfamiliar face. They seemed to be a maid of some sort, lacing atop her head and greenish-gray hair swooped over one eye. She wore a frilly maid’s dress with lace occasionally scattered around the sleeves and waist, as well as black tights finished off with sturdy black heeled shoes. 

“You may address me as Kirumi Tojo. Might you be Nagito of the Komaeda family?” she said with a polite tone, lowering herself into a curtsey.

“Yes, I am. Why are you here?”

He’d never seen her before in his life, and her servant attire didn’t fit that of Jabberwock’s culture, so he was sure she must be from foreign kingdom. The way she held herself, from her posture to where she rested her arms carried a sort of noble elegance that he could never hope to recreate on his own. 

“You have been cordially invited to work at the Kamakura palace with a chance for the hand in marriage of the king of Kamakura. I have been sent to bring you there by carriage if you should choose to participate.”

The lighter haired of the two tilted his head, mind trying to register if he had heard her correctly. She waited patiently, the expression in her eyes not betraying a single twinge of annoyance or impatience. A chance for a hand in marriage? For the so-called dark heir? And he, not even nobility, was invited? The mere concept of it all confounded him.

“Are you truly sure you have the right person? I am not of nobility or any status, so there would be no reason for me to receive an invitation.”

With a small sigh, Kirumi pulled out dozens upon dozens of papers from the bag she was holding, and held them out before Nagito. Tentatively, he grabbed them, confused yet curious on what they could possibly contain. His eyes scanned the papers, but all he could see on them was thousands of names, all of them no one that he knew. There were last names from every kingdom, ranging from easy to speak to impossible to read, and he didn’t bother even trying to memorize one of them. Still puzzled, Nagito handed the papers back to Kirumi, and as she shuffled the papers into a neat stack, she spoke.

“That was all the names of somewhat wealthy people in all of the five kingdoms that are either wealthy or noble. Out of all of those, you were the one that was chosen at random, the sole person who will have a chance to even attempt courting the king. Therefore, I extend this invitation to you as the Kamakura castle’s honored guest and worker. So, do you accept it, or do you need some time to consider?”

Nagito shook his head. An opportunity like this was exactly what he had been aching to receive from his astounding luck. He’d gotten bored of the echoing wood walls of his estate, and was really truly just looking for something more than cleaning his own house to entertain him. With this rapid spark of hope, just what kind of bad luck would follow? Nevermind that, he needed to prepare. After promising a barely surprised Kirumi that he’d be packed in only two hours, Nagito set off across the hall to his room, which was just nearby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That was all for the first chapter! Have a fantabulastic day :)


	2. Carriages and Mysterious Butlers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After some tribulations, Nagito arrives at the palace, and makes acquaintances with a strange man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I'm glad for those who stuck around to this chapter. This one has a slightly smaller word count, but I felt that it was a good place to end there. The next chapter will be up thursday, but I hope you enjoy this one!

The carriage was rather quaint, it’s black and silver exterior glittering in the light of the sun. It was compact, in a square form and not too ostentatious, unlike the one he had ridden in with his parents so long ago. Just to his liking, there wasn’t anything but cushions on the seats, afraid that any extra pillows would somehow curse him once again. Failing to notice that Kirumi had offered her help, Nagito hoisted his two somewhat heavy suitcases onto the floor, then proceeded to add himself to the mix. The maid simply bowed and walked out to the coach seat, causing Nagito to feel impressed that she was to be driving the carriage there as well.

Nagito let the bumpy road match his ragged breathing as his eyes slowly descended to a close, and he fell into a deep sleep.

\--- 

It was the sound of horseshoes clamping against the stone road and the shouts of merchants that finally stirred Nagito. When he looked up, the moon was brilliantly illuminated in the starry night sky, lighting each individual stone on the pathway with its own unique glow. Everyone around him seemed to be closing up for the night, merchants greeting other merchants, mothers and fathers leading their children away from the bustling noise, and ragged looking people lying down to sleep on the side of the road. Stretching his head out the window to get a better view of the scenery, Nagito’s eyes widened in amazement as his gaze fell to the great looming palace that stood before him. 

The palace was gorgeous, to say the least. It towered tall above the surrounding villages, a triangle rooftop placed in the middle of two identical towers. The front gate was rectangular and closed and decorated with spikes, as if it were guarding off a herd of angry protesters with pitchforks that were never really there. The bricks were barely visible in the cool moonlight, their lines blending in with some of the stray vines that dared to venture up the sturdy walls. Almost the entire palace was surrounded in grey rock, aside from the small field of dimly lit grass that lay in front of it. There were not any flowers in this field aside from dainty white roses that stood out in great contrast to the dark exterior of the whole thing. However, the most fascinating part of the palace lay plain in sight: its colors. While the left half of the castle was painted in a fresh and pure white, the right side was almost pitch black, causing confusion and eyestrain, yet appreciation for its creativity at the same time. The stark contrast only made Nagito want to gaze at it more, the breeze blowing his disorderly bangs to the side and leaving his vision wide open. 

“It is indeed a lovely sight, is it not?” Nagito’s ears pricked as Kirumi’s voice reached them, and he simply gave a closed smile in her direction.

“As a person who appreciates things of beauty, my whole viewpoint on what I should consider truly pretty has changed just from a simple glance. Not that my opinion would matter to someone as esteemed as you, of course.”

Kirumi seemed disheartened at this, her normally neutral expression twisted into a subtle frown. Her eyebrows tilted slightly, she briefly turned her attention from the road to Nagito, who didn’t see anything wrong about what he had just said. 

“I do agree that we are on different levels, however you are in a far higher position than me. So, although I am flattered that you hold me such high regards, please do not talk about someone as important as yourself in such a matter.”

Nagito only responded with silence and a proud smile, knowing that someone as strong willed as Kirumi would not have her mind changed so easily. Then again, even if he remained quiet, neither would he for now. Nagito stood fast to his ideals, whether the others considered them blasphemous or not. 

Nagito felt his stomach lurch as the carriage suddenly crashed forwards, screeching stone mixed with the whimpers of horses and a squeak from Kirumi in front. The wooden floor snapped, and Nagito barely managed to stay inside without falling through the gaping hole in the floor. Sliding the door open, he rolled out next to a startled Kirumi, who, although being injured herself, pushed up and rushed to Nagito’s side. 

“Sir, are you all right?” she said through a rough yet composed voice, stretching out her gloved hand to help him up. Nagito waved her hand away, instead offering to get up by himself. He brushed off his dark pants and long green coat before checking to see if she was unharmed. He then examined the vehicle to see that the front wheel had broken, wooden splinters and boards scattered everywhere, and the horses sprawled on the ground, barely safe from the crash. Turning to Kirumi, he tilted his head to silently inquire what should happen next.

“It is only a short walk from here to the palace, if you wish to take it. Although, if you request any other means of travel, I assure you that I can provide it.” 

“It’s fine, Kirumi,” Nagito waved his hands contentedly. “You seem to have a bit of a limp, though, would you mind if I carried you? I have no ulterior motives, you have my word. After all, I wouldn’t dream of imposing such bad wishes on someone who holds as much potential and hope as you.” Kirumi bowed her head in thanks, but still did not seem as if she was planning to accept his offer. With grace, she fastened her gloves and straightened her dress, raising a hand to her mouth to create an ‘ahem.’

“I appreciate your offer, sir, and yet I’m afraid I must refuse. I am merely your maid, a tool for you to use, not the other way around. And the king’s suitor carrying a simple palace maid would surely be considered inappropriate. As I said before, if you request any other means of travel, I will provide willingly.”

“What if I told you that I should request my means of travel to be walking with you in my arms? I am not usually so stubborn to one such as yourself, however your limp continues to concern me. Plus, I think it is fairly obvious from my agreement to all of this that I am not inclined to have romantic interest in women.”

Kirumi’s cheeks flushed from embarrassment over a split second, and it was all she could do to nod and say “as you wish.” With her confirmation, Nagito did his best to gently, yet clumsily lift her in his arms, though he wasn’t the best at it. He’d often been sick as a child, so there was never much time for sports and exercise. He supposed that had been a good thing, considering he honestly hated both of those, but now it had put him at a great disadvantage. His breathing and steps were strained at first, but he soon grew used to the weight of Kirumi in his arms, and by the time he felt as if he would accidentally drop her due to his terrible luck, they had arrived at the gates. 

Actually, the reason Nagito had offered to carry Kirumi was merely because of his luck. It was probably his own misfortune that had caused the carriage to crash, making him responsible for all the damage. Of course, for a reason like that he wouldn’t be allowed to pay for it, so helping Kirumi was the second best thing he could do. 

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Kirumi looked up at him curiously, and inquire she did. 

“Sir, if you may allow me to speak freely to you, I do wish to understand why you think so lowly of yourself; you are fairly well off, and there is no reason I have been able to find as to why you’d have such a driven philosophy.”

Nagito looked off in thought, her question was fairly well worded. “I suppose that I’ve had a rather unfortunate cycle of luck and misfortune in my life. I have found that without fail, my luck always creates hope, which is followed by despair, and once again followed by hope. And, someone like me bringing that curse everywhere truly should be considered worthless. However, people with talent on the other hand, can bring change to the world with sheer will, something I am only able to do because of my luck. There’s a lot more to it, but I’d hate to bore you.” 

Kirumi seemed lost in thought after his response. After a minute, she finally graced him with a reply. 

“I see. In my opinion, my liking for servitude is not talent, but rather something that I feel required to do. Although, I can see the meaning behind your words.”

They came face to face with the guards, and it became clear to Nagito that they were confused about these two people. However, as soon as Kirumi glared at them their eyes seemed to widen in fearful recognition and they stepped aside, lowering the towering gates to create a clear path inside. 

When he had said the exterior of the castle was astonishing, he had certainly not accounted for the interior being cloud nine. Pillars stretched to the tilted ceiling, the interior split into a wonderful black and white just as the outside was. There were many red decorations, along with occasional checkered patterns found around the room. He was standing in a long hall that split off into other ones, and led into an even bigger space. Nagito stood and stared at the surrounding scenery, mouth agape and barely able to keep himself from dropping Kirumi on the cold stone tile. What kind of work must have gone into an artistic masterpiece like this? The slight curves in the architecture and skillfully crafted furniture certainly must have taken a lot of time and effort, not to mention a wisely saved amount of money. Whatever kind of perfectionist king could put so much thought into an eloquently balanced interior decor as this must be one to admire. He was very excited to meet him. 

There was a flash of black until in front of him stood a man about his age, yet slightly taller. He almost felt like an apparition or a magical creature, his red eyes glowing with a certain dangerous gleam, and incredulously long hair pooling around his firm stance. No matter how frightening he was, Nagito had subconsciously thought that he looked quite beautiful in this dim lighting. His skin was almost a porcelain level of perfect, almost as if he was just an artificial doll. 

Kirumi suddenly lowered herself out of his arms, barely even wincing from her limp, and seemed determined to look him in the eye. She was almost trembling, but managed to hold herself together and maintain a respectful appearance.

Kirumi raised her hand to explain what she was doing there, arriving in Nagito’s arms nonetheless. But the man in front of him, presumably the head butler (?) He was only dressed in a suit, so Nagito had assumed so, seemed to have different ideas. 

“Sir--”

“Bold of you, to come into the palace with the king’s supposed suitor carrying you in his arms. I will have to inform him.”

How had this butler already known that he was the suitor of the king? Perhaps he had been the one giving the order. Kirumi looked confused for a moment, but then nodded, and came up with a reasonable comeback. 

“Sir, the carriage crashed on our way here, and I was ordered by Sir Nagito to be carried here because I had a limp. We have already agreed that we have no romantic interest in each other, and it was merely out of kindness. I did try to refuse, although I was directed to follow whatever requests that Sir Nagito gave me. I hope my explanation is sufficient. Now, if I could selfishly request that yo-- the king does not...hear about this.”

The dark haired male looked Kirumi directly in the eye, almost playfully, but returned to a serious look and bowed and left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading, I love you, you're worth it, have an amazing day!


	3. Palaces and Bright Ribbons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito heads out for his first day of servant training, and meets two interesting... characters... on the way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to confirm, yes, the man Nagito thinks is the head butler is Izuru. Wasn't sure if I made that clear enough, whoops. 
> 
> Hi welcome to chapter three! I hope you enjoy, sorry if this one is a bit shorter than the others. P.S. Ibuki is hard to write, "forgive me- mikan" if I mess up.

“Kirumi, what was that just now?” Nagito glanced at the confused maid, wondering just what kind of exchange had taken place between the butler (?) with the long ebony hair, and the complacent maid. Kirumi’s speech had seemed deformed, as if she was trying to improvise her words or change them so as to not give something away. She had been silent for a while not, her eyebrows pushed together in thought. She raised a gloved hand to brush a strand of gray hair back, turned to Nagito, and curtseyed. 

“My apologies, sir, but that is one question I am not allowed to answer. Now, If I may lead you to your room?” 

Not allowed to answer? But she had only said a few moments ago, that she was ordered to follow any request he gave her. Ah, he supposed the answer to his query was so confidential that it trespassed other orders she was given by someone else of a higher status. Could it be the king, then? Or perhaps the butler himself? Well, there was no use wasting thought on it now, seeing as she wouldn’t answer his suspicions either way. 

Kirumi’s limp seemed to be getting better now, so he didn’t offer to make her uncomfortable by carrying her again. As they walked along the vast hallways, Nagito couldn’t help but stare wide-eyed at the lighting, the chandeliers, the candles, and many other beauties that this almost unreal place had to offer. While he was awed, a part of him worried that he wouldn’t be able to find his way around such a massive area, especially since he could hardly keep from getting lost in his own, much smaller estate. Ah, well. He supposed he could just leave it to his luck to either get him around or lead to some interesting encounters. 

“Here we are, sir.” Kirumi outstretched a hand to a red door with silver metal in detailed patterns around it. It wasn’t any different than the other doors, and yet Nagito knew he’d grow familiar with it eventually, whether it took long or fast. He placed a gentle palm on the rough wood, and turned back to Kirumi, who was brushing off her own sleeves.

“I must take my leave now, to inform our staff of the crashed carriage and your arrival. Starting at 8:00 A.M. tomorrow, and for the next week, you must report to the first ballroom to receive training so that you are fit to work among us. Before that, you can fetch breakfast at the dining hall, but make sure to finish at the very least 7:45 so that you are left fifteen minutes to reach the first ballroom.”

Nagito stared at her, head tilted and a wildly nervous smile on his face. All this information was a lot to take in, he could barely even register it all. 8:00 A.M.? First ballroom? Dining hall? Fifteen minutes? Just how much more complicated was palace life going to be compared to his old one? He lifted a hand to scratch his white curls, wondering how he could possibly communicate his immense confusion to Kirumi. However, one glance into her eyes and it seemed she could already read him like a book.

“I understand that the palace is new to you, so I will send a staff member to escort you throughout the palace at 7:25 AM everyday at least until your servant training is over. After that, you’ll have to be left on your own. I do pity that you have been thrust into such a foreign environment, but adaptation and quick efficiency is how we function here. Now, I really must go.” With the click of her heel, the elegant woman briskly walked away, her steps quickening as she became no more than a dot down the never ending hallway. 

Sliding his hand down to the silver doorknob, Nagito somehow felt butterflies in his stomach; due to his luck, his life had completely changed in only two days. Now he was here, able to work for what must be an amazing king, and not only that, meet the fabled king in person, as well as try to win him over. He wasn’t sure how well he’d fare on the win over him part of it, but this was enough for him. He pushed the door open, ready to see what was on the other side. 

It definitely didn’t measure up to some other parts of the palace that was more for show, but it was elegant, for sure. The rooms weren’t black and white like the entrance hall, but rather comfy and normal. His room in particular was lined with green wallpaper that was patterned with light yellow designs. The floor was a dark mahogany, it’s wooden boards polished and mopped most likely in preparation of his arrival. There was a sturdy wooden desk to the right, already set with quills and parchment. To the left lay a closet and a bookshelf, along with a tall lamp that was lighted by a flickering flame. Nagito then turned his attention to the bed, which was tall and large, held up by dark wooden poles and stuffed with pillows. Without blinking, he rushed over to move the pillows away and onto the floor. It was certainly an odd reaction, but too many pillows only ever reminded him of his parents blood, and he couldn’t have that. Picking up the spare pillows, he opened the closet to throw them in. 

After getting them organized nicely, Nagito flopped down on the bed. He didn’t normally wake up until around 9:30 AM, but Kirumi was sending that one person to take him to the dining hall. He had to be ready to go by the time they came, but he supposed his luck would take care of that. If not, then there must be a reason that it didn’t. After all, only hope could come from mistakes and sleeping in. Everything was going so well, hopefully it could keep up.

\---

Nagito woke up to the early morning chirping of birds outside his window, and when he checked the clock, he immediately smiled. It was 7: 15, leaving him just about ten minutes to get dressed and ready for his escort. Pulling out his suitcase from under the bed (he hadn’t unpacked just yet), he opened it up and grabbed out a couple random things that he figured might go well together. He slid on a white blouse over his bare chest, which he proceeded to layer a gray vest on top of. After that, he managed to find himself some black pants that he paired with white socks and shiny brown shoes, of which the soles were slightly worn. He didn’t bother to comb his hair, as that never went in his favor, instead opting to comb his hands through the knots until he was somewhat satisfied. 

And just as he finished rubbing the morning dew out of his eyes, a fast and excited ‘tap tap tapping’ was heard at his door. He opened it and--

“Goooooooooooooooooooood Nom nom nomming!!!!” an oversaturated voice yelled in his face, blowing the bangs away from his forehead just a little bit. Nagito stood there, blinking twice, or three times at the eccentric girl before him. 

Her clothes were certainly of a… bright color, in fact Nagito wondered where she could have possibly gotten such neon cloth. She wore what he assumed used to have been a normal dress. Used to. The sleeves were ripped and splattered with a bright pigment, and the buttons were all of a different color as well. The long gloves she wore were ripped as well as her socks, allowing scrapes and scratches to be seen beyond the holes. The long skirt of the dress was also ripped, something not considered socially acceptable. Although, it wasn’t as though Nagito cared. If she was allowed to wear it in the castle, she was allowed to wear it. The strangest thing about her however was her hair, black with white, pink, and bright blue ribbons scattered all over. Two thicker white ribbons were wrapped around the hair spikes on the top of her head, which almost looked like devil horns.

“That bossy Kirumi told Ibuki she had to come over here to pick you up for the fast breaks, so Ibuki ran over here with the speed of a flyyyyyingggggg horse! Pretty impressive, right!?” She flashed a toothy smile, looking smug and sparkling with pride. She grabbed his wrist and started skipping happily down the hallway, pulling Nagito along with her.

Fast breaks? She must mean breakfast right? Well, he supposed first impressions were important, although hers was… striking. The staff of Kamukura were certainly a unique bunch. Ready to make an impression himself, Nagito managed to raise a wobbly voice as he was racing down the halls. 

“I’m Nagito, it’s my pleasure to meet you? Anyway, you are taking me to the dining hall right? And then the… first ballroom, I think?”

Ibuki stopped, turned around, and tilted her head, several ribbons bouncing with her. 

“Mr. Soggy Toe, why do you sound so nervous?” She poked him in the cheek, causing him to flinch. “Ibuki and all the other servants are like, super duper psyched to get a new friend!” She then poked the other cheek, and stuck her tongue out at him. 

He couldn’t help but giggle, not just out of how weird this whole encounter was, and the nickname ‘Soggy Toe’ , as well as the weird language but also how her weird behaviour had oddly calmed him down. She was definitely the strangest person he had met in his lifetime, but her happy go lucky attitude was difficult to let go of once it rubbed off on him. And plus, those bright colors blurring around his vision seemed to light up his world, even if just a little. He waved her off, giving her the most confident smile he could. It was just his luck that he would meet someone so charming. Although, perhaps this whole palace was full of eccentric personalities like hers.

“It flatters me that you could possibly spread your joy to someone as unworthy as me, but it did help. To be honest, I’m just a little lost throughout all these rooms. No worries, though. I’m sure that I’ll get it figured out.”

Ibuki smiled, and it seemed as if an ingenious idea had formed in her mind. “Ibuki’s got the solution to all you problems! Ibuki will just sketchy sketch an M! A! P! Map! And then Mr. Soggy Toe can find the meaning of the uuuuuniverse!” 

The wording was a little weird, but Nagito’s eyes widened at her words. Someone like her, doing so much just so he would cheer up? It was very uncalled for, but before he could open his mouth in protest, Ibuki pulled him along again, and in a couple of seconds she was elbowing the door to the dining hall.   
“Ibuki has to go now! Your m! a! p! will be ready when you come back to your abode!” 

And before Nagito could process what was happening, she burst right out. Nagito reached out a hand but it was too late. Letting out a pitiful laugh, he began walking towards the dishes. It seemed Ibuki had gotten too excited about the map, and left him alone. WIth a sigh, he thought about how he was going to get to the first ballroom without her. Ah, well. He'd worry about that later. For now, he needed to eat breakfast as fast as he could, so that he’d have enough spare time to somehow find someone to ask directions. 

Nagito walked up to the chef, tired out from his encounter with Ibuki. However, little did he know that his cycle of luck had more in store for him.

He had been served a silver platter, and was about to walk away, when he heard an all too smooth voice call out to him. That voice had belonged to the chef, who wore a traditional chef’s uniform with touches of red. His brown hair twirled into a strange tornado-like shape, and he had a round torso as well. His small pink finger pads spread out in front of Nagito, almost as if he was trying to grab at him. Nagito looked at him confused, raised a finger to his chin, and opened his mouth to speak.

“Is there anything you need? Or did you give me the wrong food?” He needed to leave soon, or else he’d be late. 

With a suspiciously sly smile, the chef twirled his hair, and in a low voice, answered his question. “I just wanted to see how qualified the man to marry the king might be” he raised one eyebrow. Nagito did not like the implications of that sentence. Something about this made him feel… worried for his own safety in a way. He started backing away, and then straight up running, until he reached a table and hurriedly started scooping his breakfast into his mouth. 

The chef was yelling from across the room, honestly making him flustered and uncomfortable. Without thinking, he left his empty breakfast platter, and briskly walked out of the dining hall and across the confusing hallways, cursing his luck for that encounter. And he cursed his luck again when he finally realized that he had forgotten to ask for directions, and now there was, ironically, no one left in sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wait wait wait before you leave sorry I portrayed Teruteru as a villain I actually love him he's great. But anyone would feel uncomfortable in a situation like that, haha.
> 
> I love you, I care about you, and have a great day!


	4. Lost Dogs and Colorful Roses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito is looking for directions, and he finds them. Later on, he meets a colorful array of new trainees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit longer because I want to challenge myself to write more. Also I kin Nagisa Shingetsu so you have no choice but for me to write about him all the time sorry not sorry.

After his encounter with the chef, Nagito didn’t want to go back in there, not now at least. He was sure he would run into someone out here, if he just walked long enough. The tile of the hall echoed beneath his feet as he stumbled across it, eyes wide and alert for any sound that could signal a person’s arrival. 

Alas, it was just his luck. There was no one in sight. The curtains were even closed in this abandoned hallway, almost as if he was in some cliche horror novel. With a sigh, he ran his fingers through his white tereses, and slid down the wall to sit hugging his knees. Of course it had to go like this. He always had so many good things happen to him, and then everything had to just go downhill. He’d actually been pretty happy, but suddenly the sky came crashing down upon him, every trivial action and thing weighing like an anvil dragging him into the sea. Nagito placed his hands, to grab his head, his breathing getting rougher and sweat running down his cheek. His fingers grasped and felt his skull. Why was he overthinking this so much? He should just go back the way he came. But what if he couldn’t find his way back? It was really dark in this hallway, he couldn’t see. It was almost as dark as the night his parents died. His parents… his parents… this had all started at his parents. With his damned luck following him, Nagito honestly wished he would’ve just died with them--

“Why are you here?”

Nagito looked up, but didn’t respond. He didn’t even bother to acknowledge that person aside from that, instead focusing on calming his breathing and rubbing the wet from his eyes. It must have been a solid three minutes before he finally gave that patient person his attention. 

It was him. That man he believed to be the head butler. The man with the incredulously long locks of raven hair, and those red eyes that seemed to gleam and glow in the dark. Looking at him now, he had a slender figure that always stood firm and straight. The raven haired male placed his shined shoe firm on the tile, and turned heel when Nagito reached up and grabbed him by the wrist, weakly, and yet desperately. In an emotional state, he looked up, pleadingly, and the other turned around with a glare, as if he felt no pity at all. 

“Please… take me to the first ballroom. I need not know your name, or anything else, just get me out of here.”

There were no words between them at that moment. The taller of the two just grabbed Nagito’s hand and pulled him away, mumbling that something like this was ‘a waste of time.’ Nagito’s eyes widened as he was pulled along, although there was a much different aura then when Ibuki had pulled him along this morning. His hands were like cold water, becoming ice as they came into contact with Nagito’s equally cold and trembling ones. Something about this man was mysterious, hidden, making Nagito intrigued. He thought about asking Kirumi about it, but she was clearly not authorized to answer any questions. Before he knew it, his thoughts were interrupted by the hand letting go of his own, and black locks flowing in motion as the mysterious figure pushed open the door. 

When he realized that he must be late by now, Nagito placed his curiosity for the strange person aside and looked at the tall yellow door in front of him. It was labeled a silver plate of the number one, so he supposed that his request had been fulfilled after all, and the first ballroom was right here. He had no idea how he was to explain himself to Kirumi, or the other rookie servants that had probably started without him, but prolonging the inevitable was no use to him. Plus, he couldn’t push aside the odd yet kind actions of the man with red eyes and be even more late.

The suited man walked in first, and he trailed in behind sheepishly, hand in hand with the other and guilt ridden all over his face. What seemed like a million faces seemed to meet his gaze, which was immediately directed to the floor with all the unwanted attention. He could hear mumblings around the ballroom, like ‘Isn’t that the dumbass suitor of the king?’ or ‘Rookie really had the damn audacity to stumble in here late’, along with ‘I hope that this one will hate me too…’ and finally ‘my my, would you look who finally arrived?’. 

However, Kirumi, who was standing in the middle of all of them, let out a barely audible gasp among all the whispers. The shadows on her face seemed to grow thicker, and Nagito could almost feel her heartbeat pick up across the room. This person he was with always seemed to cause her breath to hitch, not in a way that she was scared of him, but more like she was anticipating something of importance. He suddenly felt his hand pulled again with a slight yank, heading towards Kirumi. She nodded and bowed, almost in apology. 

“I found this lost dog in the east wing.” Nagito’s hand was let go, accompanied with a light push to Kirumi. Tense, he straightened his posture and glanced to the thankfully distracting ballroom wall. His ears pricked at their conversation, curious and yet feeling like he was eavesdropping at the same time. 

“My apologies, sir. I swear to you this will never occur within these palace walls again. Now, please take your leave, I would hate to waste your time, as precious as it is.” 

He flipped a strand of his hair, placing it behind his ear. His eyebrows slightly tilted inwards, the strange man simply scoffed and directed his eyes around the room, scanning the tables, embroidered tablecloths, chairs, eloquent walls, and most importantly, the many people around him. Nagito decided to join him in the activity, seeing as he hadn’t gotten a chance to be acquainted with these other new servants either. They were of many varieties and appearances, he was certainly wondering what kind of talent or hope some of them could carry. Alas, he was sure at least one of them would make an excellent stepping stone for hope. Surprising how he could feel so calm and serene after that little… incident in the east wing earlier, but he was used to his mood suddenly shifting like this. His thoughts were interrupted when the man in black finally raised his voice.

“I have indeed wasted some of my coveted moments here, so you could at least allow me to remain for the sake of my entertainment, yes? In any case, I also need to be present for that matter we discussed.” 

It all seemed to be over in an instant at his words, Kirumi walking over to pull out a dull gray chair for this strange man to sit on. He rested his sleeved arms over the carved arms of the chair, sitting with his right leg crossed over his left. Nagito could swear he had the posture and elegance of a god. Kirumi motioned her hand at him, signaling for him to cross over to her and the other servants-in-training, and so Nagito complied. His own lonely footsteps echoed along the massive ballroom, feeling more uncomfortable than he’d like them to be. Not even Kirumi offered him a reassuring smile, as she still seemed shaken up from the encounter with the mystery man. After so long of uncomfortable silence, Nagito finally met with the group, and Kirumi gathered herself and began again as if nothing had occurred in moments past. 

“Well, as I had been explaining to those of you aside from Nagito, you all seemed to have gathered that you are not training for the same position. Fuyuhiko is becoming a part of his highness's personal guard, Mr. Kemuri will be learning how to create and post art in our crafts in our art gallery, Miss Saionji will be a show dancer, Duchess Celestia Ludenburg is going to be a palace maid, along with Sir Nagito, who is on his way to become his highness’s personal servant. Those roles are just few and as important as the many other pieces of the puzzle that make up the Kamakura palace staff. Therefore, we will be doing our absolute best to prepare you for your tasks in just five days, or this week excluding the weekend. This may seem like quite a time crunch, but if you cannot even handle that, I’m afraid you’ll never be ready for work in this palace, and will have to leave, no matter who you may be, or what status you may hold.”

Nagito knew that he must be some part of that last addition to the sentence. He was weak, and he was barely fit to do anything besides menial tasks. Hell, due to his luck he may even end up butchering this opportunity for himself. A fate truly befitting of someone like him, he thought. Still, he’d give it a shot. Even if he failed, he’d at least go as far as his luck would take him. The people around him seemed all different, some confident and buoyed by power, and others more nervous and slouched than before. 

“Now that you are all aware of those conditions, I would like to start today by giving introductions among you all, and giving you a tour of the castle. We will then proceed to introduce you to your mentors for these five long days, and hope that after that, you will be able to survive. Very well, begin talking amongst yourselves. You are required to give your first name and birth kingdom, as well as the position you are aiming to serve.” 

With that, she stepped to the side politely, and Nagito was left with a very scary decision to make. Who would he talk to first? No one wanted to approach him, it seemed, as he was apparently more special than all of them, being the ‘chosen one’. Before he could reach out to anyone, people were blurring past him, and he had subconsciously picked the route of ‘wait until someone approaches you.’ 

“Hello. My name is Celestia Ludenburg, or if you wish to flatter me, Duchess Celestia Ludenburg. My birth kingdom is this one, and I aim to become a maid. It is truly wonderful to meet you.” 

She gave an all too polite and ostentatious courtesy and stretched her hand out for him to kiss, which allowed Nagito to get a better look at her. She had ridiculously twirled twin tails that resembled a dark tornado that were adorned with white ribbons and lace. Her pale white skin and red eyes resembled that of some gothic vampire, which fit well with her lolita style of clothing. On her was a multi-layered laced ebony dress, complemented by equally dark tights and a finger gauntlet that shined in the ballrooms lighting. She was certainly polite to pick the loner to talk to, and yet there was something about her that just barely shined through her foreign accent each time she spoke. However, after just her introduction, Nagito just couldn’t manage to put his finger on it. Even so, he took her laced sleeve with dignity and lightly placed his lips on her palm, before quickly pulling away. He had always hated that custom, although there was no chance he had enough influence to change it. 

“Miss Celestia, thank you for your introduction. I am Nagito Komaeda, birth kingdom Jabberwock, and an aspiring manservant to the king.” 

There was some odd change in her behaviour towards him after that. He noticed a slight twitch in her eyebrow, a small squeeze on her wrist and narrowing of her eyes. 

“Did I not say to call me Duchess Celestia Ludenberg? Ahahaha, well, it was only a simple mistake, but I expect you to refer to me as that from now on.” With a swift turn, she walked off, barely maintaining her cool and twintails bouncing with her heels. 

Well, she was annoying. 

He turned around and nearly fell when he bumped into… a lost kid? No, this one had been with the others and him earlier. But why would the Kamukura palace be hiring a kid? None of the jobs he had heard seemed fit for a child, so it struck him as odd. Nevertheless, he was required to introduce himself to survive this week, and that was easy enough. 

This ‘classmate’ of his was short, and his face was covered in a stitched together mask, filled with many tones of brown. It even seemed that a couple stray nails were sticking into it, like they could poke into his brain anytime. The boy’s long brown sleeves extended past his hands, covering his arms in their entirety, with double bronze buttons on the cuffs. The kid was also wearing shorts partially covered by an apron with many stitches on it, as if he had ripped it countless times. He carried two bags, both stuffed to the brim with 

“Hello, my name is Nagito Komaeda. I was born in Jabberwock and I am training to be the king’s honorable servant. And you?” He hadn’t noticed it, but he’d bent down a little bit, placing his arms behind his back in a sweet manner. He supposed that any kid could do that to an adult. The kid looked up into his eyes-- no, more like his soul, his blue eyes piercing Nagito’s own. 

“Whyy do firefliees have tuh die so youuung?”

Fireflies? What did that have to do with anything? He knew children could get distracted from conversations but not usually as soon as it started. 

“Hm… I'm… Jataro Kemuri… of Towa Kingdom… and I’m ‘unna be here to make crafts! Cuz.. that’s what I’m known for! Also, why do you have.... hair that looks like… noodles?”

Nagito placed a hand behind his head, glancing to the side in slight embarrassment. He’d heard sheep’s wool and chicken feather before, but never noodles. In all actuality, he was a little self conscious about his hair, seeing as even in his youth, then his parents had tried and tried to comb through that maze of tangled briars and chaos, they had failed. He’d finally gotten over his fear and attempted it himself, but smoothing down those tangled locks was a feat only god may accomplish. He’d occasionally put it in a ponytail, but even that took quite a lot of effort. 

As he was examining Jataro to come up with some semblance of an answer, a sleeved hand pushed him aside and he stumbled to hit the floor. Nagito took a step and began to reach out a hand, but a freckled hand lightly slapped it away. That hand came in a package with uniquely styled blond hair, scattered freckles, and a round, angry yet adorable face. This man was wearing a long sleeved white blouse, topped with what looked like a tough, black, leather vest. His pants were tight and striped, and sticking out of the front pockets were what very clearly looked like the handles of some silver daggers. Although his eyes were round and a dull yellow green color, one of them was strikingly blocked off by a black eyepatch with a silver dragon embroidered in a spiral around it. He definitely came off as rude, seeing as he’d pushed Jataro aside without a thought, but there was still a need to give him a chance. Who knew what kind of hope he could contain, after all?

“Don’t you reach out to help that kid, he’s perfectly fine, that little shit. Called me cute… which isn’t fucking true…!” He looked up flustered at Nagito, seemingly realizing that he was supposed to say his name, rather than his opinion on his looks. “Name’s Fuyuhiko, born in Horseb Kingdom, and I’ll be damned if you need to know my last one. I’m here to be a part of the king’s personal guard. Now hurry up, and get these dumb formalities over with.” 

Nagito almost laughed at himself as he bowed, knowing full well that Fuyuhiko surely didn’t care for any of that. He even extended the bow and raised an eyebrow at Fuyuhiko, biting his lip to forbid that sly smirk forming on his face from breaking free. And just to fit his expectations, an irritated Fuyuhiko’s palm slapped across his cheek, causing some attention to be drawn to the two of them. Ahaha, well he deserved it. 

“Would you get up already!? Name. And. Occupation. Now.”

“Nagito Komaeda, born in Jabberwock, and I’m training to be the king of Kamukura’s manservant, as I’m sure you’ve already realized.”

There wasn’t even a response as Fuyuhiko nodded and walked off, quickening his steps to Celestia in the corner. The only reason Nagito had gained the courage to bow with playfulness like that was honestly because his instinct had told him that Fuyuhiko wasn’t really a bad guy. He was fun to work with, and Nagito certainly hoped they’d get to interact more. 

Perhaps he’d approach someone this time. Glancing at his surroundings, he saw Fuyuhiko and Celestia arguing, Jataro looking at something on the ground with great interest, and a lone girl in the middle, poking her tongue out at what looked like all of them. His feet followed a path until he reached her, and was finally able to get a look at her up close. Her clothes were of some foreign kingdom he must’ve not studied the fashions of. It was an orange dress-like apparel; Scratch that, he would describe it more as a long, loose robe with wide sleeves and tied with a sash. Across it were scattered what looked like white flower petals. Her hair was tied in a sprawling ponytail that curved almost unnaturally; and despite being outwardly mature, something made Nagito believe that she was childish, whether it be her rosy pink cheeks or silver cat hair tie. 

“Eww, stop ogling at me, dumbass! I am not interested in the king's new plaything!” She pulled down her eye bag and stuck her tongue out, but not in the silly way that Ibuki had this morning. This girl was certainly honest, if you could call it that. Although, he definitely had to clear this whole thing up. 

“Ah, but I have no right to even mean anything to his highness yet. And, for the record, I’m personally not interested in a girl like you or, any other girl, either. Who are you, is what I was originally gonna ask, if you don’t mind?” he gave a poisonous smile that definitely didn’t conceal the petty taste of his words. 

She almost giggled at that, and then punched him in the arm. He stumbled back in shock, nearly falling before he caught himself. 

“Alright, jeez, I’m Hiyoko Saionji, from the foreign country of Oogami, here to show you all the beauty of my traditional dancing. Now tell me your name and the other things so I don’t call you ‘gay ass’ for the rest of your life.”

He brushed some locks behind his ear, as it seemed he’d finally gotten through to her, at least a smidge. “Nagito Komaeda, born in Jabberwock, and his highness’s servant-in-training.”

“Well, gay ass, don’t drop out from this class in the next week, I need someone to bully besides that pig faced nurse, since she won’t let me anymore. You got that?”

Whoever this ‘she’ was must be someone important to Hiyoko. This girl honestly didn’t seem to listen to anyone, like some kind of spoiled brat. However, she seemed to have taken some kind of strange yet distasteful liking to him, so Nagito supposed she wouldn’t be too hard to deal with during his time here. All the others seemed to have gathered around Kirumi, so Nagito took his lead, not bothering to wait for Hiyoko, as he knew it would probably upset her. 

“Now that you all know each other, you must all follow me so that we may give you a quick tour of the palace, and introduce you each to your mentors for the next four days. Just as it was this morning, one of our staff will pick each of you up and help you get around until you reach your designated location. However, after your training is over, you are on your own, so please pay attention and take mental notes of the palace’s interior. Now, come along.” 

The tour of the palace had been extravagant, but exhausting. They had soon left the black haired man in the dining hall, and headed out to explore. Keeping up with Kirumi was a lot of work with her fast paced walking, and small beads of sweat were forming on his forehead. He admired some of the great paintings that had been delicately created on the ceilings when he looked up, and how the palace could go from an elegant white to an orderly black if one were to run across a hallway. They had mostly gone over basic locations such as the kitchen, dining hall, rooms of all their peers, throne room (it was always locked), as well as the separate places where each of them would operate. So far they had met all the mentors except his, although that was hardly his concern. 

First was Jataro’s in the art gallery, a somewhat cultist woman named Angie Yonaga who would not stop her incoherent ramblings about the god ‘Atua’. Celestia’s mentor was Kirumi, as she was the head maid and supposedly the only one allowed to see his highness aside from the head butler. Hiyoko Saionji’s mentor was actually Ibuki, who ran up and hugged all of them as soon as they had arrived, mumbling and almost foaming to him about how she was so proud of the map she had delivered to his room. And finally, there was Fuyuhiko’s mentor, a quiet and serious guard named Juzo Sakakura. 

After she’d sent them all off to be with their mentors for the rest of the day, Kirumi motioned at him to follow her, and he joined Celestia at her side, staying quiet during their idle walk back to the first ballroom. Kirumi pushed open the door, and Nagito was surprised to see the strange man with the long dark hair still seated in the same position as when they had left, as if he and the particles of dust in the air had been frozen in time as soon as they exited the room.

“Sir Nagito, your mentor will be…” she glanced at the man “ Kuro, the head butler of Kamakura palace. He will teach you all you need to know about his highness, and if you pass his expectations by the end of the week, you will meet his highness himself on Saturday. Now, I will leave you two to it. Duchess Celestia, if you may come with me?”

“Of course. I am thrilled to be working with you today, Miss Kirumi.”

Both of the ladies in dresses left them alone together, and that’s when Nagito’s four days of confusion began.

To keep it short, Kuro hardly ever explained himself. Nagito was sure he must be closely related to the king, as he seemed to have an extensive and personal knowledge about the man himself. He’d tell Nagito things like ‘the king hates liars,’ or ‘the king despises people who aren’t entertaining enough for him’ without ever explaining why. Nagito was actually quite unsettled by these words, often reaching up a pale hand to clutch at his white shirt. What if he wasn’t good enough to meet the king’s expectations? He was hardly the best in appearance, clothing usually wrinkled, as well as his uncombed hair and often prevalent slouch. He wasn’t even sure if he could make himself of any interest through speech. Everyone always complained about his constant and repetitive talk of luck and hope, and honestly he was sure that was the only thing he could talk about. He often felt like a mosquito of some sort, taking from and irritating others while he himself was of no use to them, similar to a parasite. Nonetheless, Nagito always kept his eyes wide open and his ears attentive, because he had no intention of failing on the first day. As long as he could retain and absorb the information Kuro gave him like a sponge, Nagito was certain he’d be able to meet the king. 

Today in particular, the two of them had talked about the many pet peeves of his highness, as well as the formal bows and titles that you must call him by. Kuro let it slip somewhere in this lecture that the king didn’t particularly care for titles, and that Nagito should be fine if he at least treated the king with decent respect; however, he was still unsure about that. 

Kuro didn’t necessarily treat him with disrespect, but he did seem to always be off in a world of his own, Nagito noted.

“I’ve decided this session is over. Meet me in the library tomorrow, unless I decide not to show up.” Kuro lifted off of his chair, clenched his hands into fists. 

His steps were almost unreal. Kuro always came and went at a remarkable speed, but he never ran, he just had a graceful way of walking that made it seem like he was the one controlling time, not the other way around. Nagito stared up at the ceiling, where faint drawings of angels and bears lay in sight. However, centered around a black and white bear were two girls forming some kind of a yin and yang symbol; One with twin blondish-pink pigtails and the other with calming blue eyes and freckles. He wondered for a moment if they could be the fabled founders of Kamukura. Well, aside from that, there wasn’t anything else of interest painted onto the ceiling. He followed the ghost of Kuro’s presence back to his room. He took a couple of wrong turns on the way, but eventually found his way to that somewhat familiar red toned door, and pushed it open. 

His room was as he had left it, aside from a slightly wrinkled paper that had most likely been sloppily tossed on the floor. Nagito smiled; it seemed Ibuki had gotten that map finished. It was actually quite neatly done, she was quite the artist. Many different shades of color filled in the rooms, along with silly descriptions of the important ones. 

There was just one thing different about the map from his tour around the castle. 

It had seemed that Ibuki had highlighted a couple lines that she called ‘secret passages.’

There was a whole intricate system of them that Ibuki had colored that were below the castle. They led to many different rooms, a couple even an emergency exit outside the castle itself. He was bedazzled that she had given this information to him freely. One even led to the throne room, which theoretically meant that if he wanted to be beheaded, he could go see the king right now. There was another that led to the kitchen; it would be quite useful for midnight snacks when he couldn’t sleep, but that depended if the chef was on duty during the night. If he was, Nagito would be avoiding even touching on the idea of a midnight snack. He briefly wondered if anyone else used these tunnels aside from Ibuki, and came to the conclusion that the king and maybe others with permission did. After all, why else would they have been built beneath this marvelous structure? 

Setting aside the map on the desk along with his curiosity for now, Nagito decided to finally get everything in its proper place. He had not yet unpacked, and a couple of stray clothes were strewn across the dark wooden floor due to him being in a bit of a rush this morning. He walked around, folding clothes into the closet and setting miscellaneous things on his desk. Nagito finally felt relaxed, as cleaning was the one thing he considered himself at the very least decent at. 

After that, he examined the map for a few more minutes, attempting to create a mental image that would remain in his mind before finally giving in to the sleeping feeling that he had slowly been succumbing to, and fell fast asleep.

\---

Nagito had lifted out of the comfort of his mattress at just the right time out of instinct, this time having an organized closet to seek out when fetching clothes. He ended up just putting on a green dress shirt and black trousers; today was one of those days where he didn’t particularly have any need for a fashionable look. 

The person who came to his door this morning was a child, just as Jataro had been, although he seemed a bit more mature. He was clothed with a long white and grey vest that stretched just past his knees, accompanied with white shorts. He wore a little yellow handkerchief around his neck that was tied neatly and tightly. He also wore a white feathered cap that he had taken off as he bowed to Nagito. His cap held in his hand, Nagito was able to get a good view of the young boy’s hair. It was a nice blue, two ends of it sticking up like demon horns, or as a more friendly alternative, cat ears. 

“My name is Nagisa Shingetsu, and I’m here to escort you around this morning. Ms. Tojo has high expectations of me, so I only came here for her. As for you, I have a couple questions I need to ask you on the way.”

Nagito glanced down at the blue haired kid, who glanced back up with intense concentration. He seemed serious, face unmoving and steps placed firm on the ground. Well, Nagito was sure that Nagisa must have a very good question for him, then.

“Ask away.”

“You know the other rookie staff, correct? Is one of them named Jataro Kemuri? He wears a brown mask with nails sticking out.” Nagisa lifted two fingers and pointed at his head to motion at Jataro’s appearance. Nagito nodded, and Nagisa’s eyes seemed to light up at his response. He quickly shoved those emotions down, though, instead proceeding to lean up into Nagito’s face, eager to ask more. 

“Is he doing okay? Is he the only kid there?” Nagisa said. At this point, it was fairly obvious to assume that Nagisa knew who Jataro was. He thought back to Towa kingdom, and quickly assumed that the two of them must be some of the refugees he had heard about. They’d supposedly gotten terrible treatment there, so he honestly felt some pity for the both of them. Nagisa had probably made it to the Kamukura palace staff first, and managed to send a message to his friends back in Towa to apply. Well, at least Jataro had made it, he thought. 

“He has some odd behaviour, but if that’s normal for him then yes, he’s fine. Would you like me to keep an eye on him? You seem like a person with a talent for the future, so I’d be perfectly willing to. “

“...no way a demon could be honest about that, but all I’ll tell you is to not dare harm him. It can and will get you killed.” His eyes glared to the side at Nagito, his threatening message piercing Nagito’s skin. The use of the word demon was easy to understand if one was to think about the situation they must have had with people older than them in Towa, but Nagito failed to understand that in the moment, instead taking it as an insult. Well, he didn’t blame the kid for thinking of a demon. After all, with his supernatural luck it was entirely possible. 

“And I assume you’ll want to know if I see any other kids get recruited as well? I accept your offer.” Nagito smiled and pushed open the door to the dining hall. 

Nagisa seemed taken aback by his kindness, mouth slightly open and expression softening. However, he just shook his head and looked at Nagito with a scowl. He never answered Nagito’s question as they silently waited in line for their food, instead opting to stand in contemplative silence. 

But alas, Nagisa was not Nagito’s main concern right now. In approximately four minutes, he’d be face to face with that chef from yesterday. He thought of ways of evasion and circumvention of the situation, but there was really just no way around it every day. Well, if there was no way to escape these daily encounters, he’d really just have to normalize them. This was going to be a daily occurrence, right? Well, if that was so, then he’d just brush it off and react normally like a joke, and then walk off to one of the round tables. Alright, he could do this. Nagito steadied his breathing, and wore a polite smile as he grabbed his dish from the chef’s hands. He gave an awkward and calm glare, and the chef glared back with the same intensity. Nagisa stood to his side, having already gotten his food and looking unsurprised at the interaction. It was almost as if the chef did this all the time or something. 

“So, my good man, may I ask what you want today’s main dish to be?” The chef said barely above a whisper. He raised a single brown eyebrow at Nagito, and once again twirled a finger through his hair. 

Nagito steadied his courage, smiled right back, and seemed all too cheerful as he shot back with a “well, I heard we were just having pancakes and oatmeal. So I’ll be having that and nothing else, thank you very much.” He silently and threateningly tapped his fingers on the counter, glaring into the chef’s eyes. This awkward feeling he always felt during breakfast and all the other meals was over, right here, right now.

And to Nagito’s luck, the chef seemed to agree.

The chef let out laughter that bellowed across the dining hall, and gave a relatively friendly smile at Nagito while wiping a single tear from his eye. He reached out his hand for a handshake, and since it seemed harmless, he took it firmly. It almost felt like he was making a pact with the chef.

“Adorable Nagito, you can call me Teruteru Hanamura, and I’ll stop harassing you, at least with serious intentions in mind. “ with that he gave a wink, and handed Nagito his silver platter of pancakes and oatmeal. Nagito gave a comforted grin, and Nagisa seemed to look up at him, shocked, and it was beyond Nagito whether the shock was from their agreement or just the whole situation in general. 

As they walked towards an empty circular table, him and Nagisa shared a conversation. 

“Honestly, I’d heard Teruteru had that… weird behaviour towards everyone his age but I’ve never heard of anyone befriending him that fast. Looks like birds of a feather flock together.” He glanced to the side, embarrassed and shifting his silver platter in his hands.

“Well, if by that you mean we’re both equal levels of trash, I’d have to disagree. At least Teruteru has such talent to make this wonderful food, don’t you agree?” Nagisa just remained silent, so Nagito started heading with Nagisa towards an empty circular table, making his footsteps slower. Nagisa really didn’t seem to like adults, so it really must have been a living hell back in Towa for him. In a way, Nagito almost felt pity for him. At the same time however, he was sure that such despairing circumstances could surely spring up even greater hope. 

The blue haired child seemed to snap up as they were approaching the lunch table and suddenly pulled Nagito away with an exaggerated run, the scenery blurring in front of his eyes and tile scraping below his shoes. Once they finally arrived at their destination, everything became clear, however. There were tiny budding stars in Nagisa’s eyes as he sat down near Jataro, who was accompanied by a pale boy with slight eyebags and grey hair with a tint of pink. Said Jataro was sitting down poking at a pancake on his platter, and when Nagisa gently slapped the table, Jataro looked up in awe. The former was just barely burying an excited smile, while the latter had just tilted his head and gave a little wave. Nagito closed his eyes and smiled at the sound of their banter and chatter, glad to see that the two were getting along, if not, a little weirdly. Nagisa was lecturing him about making sure to let him know that he’d arrived while Jataro was enjoying his insults, occasionally mumbling about how Nagisa ‘must hate him’ or something. Their childish arguing seemed to make the whole dining hall light up in a brighter pigment. 

At some point, Hiyoko walked over with her red haired guide (apparently named Mahiru) to tell the two of them to ‘shut their traps’ as she put it, eventually sitting down with her breakfast and prodding at it with her fork and occasionally taking a bite. Her and Nagito talked for a bit, although their exchange was somewhat one-sided, mostly just Hiyoko bullying him and Nagito agreeing with her, making her slightly more irate with each nod and laugh. Mahiru just giggled, knowing it was all really harmless, and asked Nagito a few questions about himself. Although, Jataro’s companion stayed rather quiet, preferring to eat his meals in silence. All in all, breakfast was rather enjoyable that day, he thought. He usually had just eaten breakfast alone in his manor, occasionally accompanied by a member of his small staff that either felt bad for him or couldn’t go home yet. 

Even so, sitting at a table this lively almost made Nagito feel out of place. His replies were usually shallow or empty, in a polite yet apathetic tone. Lifeless, like a wilting weed among dozens of bright, flourishing roses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all! I hope you have a good day, you're loved!


	5. Age Gaps and Libraries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito helps a lost child find his way; He ends up late for his meeting with Kuro.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so sorry for not having any updates last week! I knew I wasn't going to update but I forgot to mention it in the end notes last time, I had all schoolwork due on friday that week, so it was a bit of a rushed deadline. I was going to post an update but I felt that would disrupt the flow of the work and get people's hopes up for a new chapter when really it was just me saying 'hey, no updates this week.' 
> 
> Anyway, I mentioned this at the beginning of the chapter to give context to those who don't read these notes, but I'm having a session of Nagito and Kuro/Izuru talking at the beginning of every chapter to get them interacting more and develop the world a bit. I hope you aren't bothered by this!
> 
> Anyway, thanks for all your support and I hope you enjoy :)

A/N: I’m adding a session of Nagito talking to Izuru/Kuro and asking some questions, mostly just to develop their relationship and squeeze in some exposition. I also hope to world build the kingdoms more and overall move the plot forward without having to squeeze in Nagito/Izuru screen time every chapter. I hope you don’t mind!

\---

On the first day of his training, Nagito tapped Kuro on the shoulder-- or well, his finger ended up tapping a strand of that long black hair-- while the latter was spacing off, staring at some of the gold patterning on his chair. 

“What is it?” Kuro didn’t even move a muscle aside from his mouth, nor did his eyes look over to Nagito. The white haired male almost felt like he was just a wandering spirit, invisible to Kuro’s eyes and unable to touch without passing through the other. He certainly hoped the king and Kuro didn’t share the same disinterest. 

“Ah, forgive me for asking, but I was just curious about the design choice around here. Black and white, like heaven and hell. It’s certainly uniquely perfect in its own way. I was also pondering how much management must be put into keeping it as clean as it is. No need to answer for someone like me of course, take your time.” 

The butler seemed to be lost in thought, and so Nagito looked around. The first ballroom was a pure and lovely white that shined and shimmered aside from the occasional footprint stain that had been left this morning. Amazing how the staff managed to keep this entire room almost completely a blinding pearly white. However, he had to be honest, the little stains and footprints left by the bustle this morning felt kind of annoying. It would really be so much beautiful if it was spotless, whether that was impossible or not. Perhaps he’d come in here later this afternoon to clean. While he’d just need a rag and a bucket of water for white ballrooms such as this one, black rooms might require something like a duster. Rather than being prone to stains, it was fairly reasonable to assume that black rooms showed the tiniest little speck of lint or dust, which was honestly equally as frustrating as the stains in white rooms. The more he thought about it, the more the castle seemed like it was extremely difficult to maintain. This king truly must be some perfectionist, he thought.

“The decision to make the castle black and white was made by those before the king, although the furniture and cleanliness was chaotic, to say the least. The king merely decided to put some order into the palace, or well… the kingdom as a whole, and concluded that repainting the interior and exterior of the palace was a waste of his precious time. As for the cleaning, I ordered Kirumi to manage it a long time ago, and she has done a meticulous job as always. Her reliability makes things rather effortless, I would hold her in some respect if she weren’t so dull.” Kuro huffed a breath of air after that little spiel, and looked back at Nagito, wondering if his answer was satisfactory. Or, it was more like he was proud that he already knew his answer was satisfactory. 

Deciding that it might be worth the risk to inquire a bit more, Nagito raised his voice to ask “How long have you known Kirumi and the King? Are you her superior?” He placed a finger on his chin and tilted his head, waiting on Kamukura to give him an answer, if he even deserved one. 

“I am indeed her superior. I’ve known her since she was hired, as I was her mentor as I am to you now. As for the king… I’d have to say I've known him since the age of 16. Before that, I wasn’t involved in the Kamukura palace at all.” He paused, and before Nagito could respond again, he continued on. “And before you ask me anything else, your repetitious questions bore me, so one more is all I shall even bother to answer.” He grimaced, and looked at Nagito as if awaiting him to ask his final question so that he could move on with his life. Nagito didn’t really blame him, of course he was boring. 

“My apologies, I knew I would be boring but I’m quite grateful to you for pointing it out to me. As for my final query, and, I know this sounds rather simple-minded of me… but… the king is around my age, correct?” Hearing nothing but silence, he fiddled with his thumbs and offered up some sort of half-baked explanation. “It’s just, it would be fairly awkward if they were even eight or nine years older than me, and if they happen to be more than two years younger, then… I’m afraid I’ll have to return to my manor and curse my luck for making me seem like a creep.” He gave an eerie smile, hoping that the worst outcome wouldn’t be the real one. 

Kuro just stared at him, almost puzzled. Almost. That expression quickly dispersed from his face and was replaced with a slow blink, an amused ‘hmph’, and an answer to his dumb wonderings. 

“Of course, only those around his age were put in the lottery to come here. You were one of the ones exactly my age-- and his age, and it would be rather blasphemous of the noble Kamukura royalty to invite a fully grown adult to court a child. Do you not believe we hold any morals at all?” He scoffed and gave the slightest hint of an eyeroll, making Nagito retract his posture and place his hand behind his neck, ashamed. He quickly laughed it off, waving his hands and nodding as if to agree with Kuro. 

Looking back, it was rather foolish of him to ask that question, but it had been nipping at the back of his mind ever since he got to the castle. What would the king look like? How old was he? What was his personality? He’d been asking himself these questions on repeat in his head, and while the first and third didn’t really matter until he met the king, the second did indeed pose some problems. Ah, well, he supposed he was glad that he'd dealt with the embarrassment now and that that was all cleared up.

\---

Nagito and Jataro separated from Nagisa and his guide as they reached the entrance of the dining hall. Nagito thanked Nagisa, who ignored him and instead started reminding Jataro to contact him and stay careful, almost like a worried mother. To think of what Nagisa and his friends must have gone through to make him so incredibly worried about Jataro definitely got Nagito’s brain cells going, but there was no reason for him to intervene, so he stayed silent. 

After he entered the first ballroom, Nagito was left alone. The rest of the apprentices stood in there, escorted around the same time as him. Some were making polite short talk, others like Fuyuhiko and Jataro were off in their own world. Nagito simply sat in a chair for a brief amount of time while the others dispersed, reviewing over the information that he was informed of by Kuro just yesterday. Let’s see here…

The king does not like being bored.  
The king does not like liars; he can tell when someone is lying.  
The king does not condone nor like physical contact with another unless he initiates it.  
The king is very meticulous about appearances and the cleanliness of everything. He doesn’t like it if you don’t look at least decently presentable.

Those were the main things they’d gone over. Of course, they’d talked about other topics here and there, but not once yet had Nagito heard of a single thing that the king actually liked. Would he just have to figure it all out by himself? 

Nagito looked up at the clock placed high in the ballroom wall, and his eyes widened when he realized that he had five minutes to get to the library where Kuro was waiting; he quickly stood up from the posh chair and began sprinting towards the exit when he noticed that Jataro Kemuri was sitting at the entrance, knees up to his chest and the nails in his mask poking out as strikingly as ever. Thinking back to the time he’d spent with Jataro and Nagisa at breakfast, he decided that the library could wait.

“Jataro. Hello? Jataro.”

He had to raise his voice a bit, so that it echoed slightly throughout the first ballroom. “Jataro!”

The small boy finally lazily turned a gaze to Nagito, and his eyes almost seemed distant, glazed over. Nagito crouched down, held his hand and pulled Jataro up, brushing off some of the stray dust from his shoulder. He glanced to the exit, and pointed at it with this spare hand, his other still remaining locked with Jataro’s. 

“Aren’t you going to go meet with Angie? She’s supposed to be mentoring you, yes?” Nagito sighed at a shake of the head from Jataro, wondering why he wouldn’t go to see her. When she’d introduced herself, sure, she’d been a little extroverted, but that didn’t seem like it would’ve been a problem for Jataro. Said Jataro looked down to the floor and pulled down his eyebags barely visible through his mask, sticking out his tongue in a childish manner. 

“Hmm, that demon Angie really likes me, and it jus’ dusn’t make sense. Isn’ everyone suppose to hate mee? And… I also dunno where the art room is…” He smiled up at Nagito soulessly, acting as if it were entirely normal for everyone to hate him, as nice as he acted. Of course, for someone like Nagito there should be an exception to normalcy, as he was far from regular in the first place. 

Reaching into the small satchel that he wore, Nagito pulled out the small piece of paper tied with some thin tweed and unraveled it in front of Jataro. His eyes scanned over the collection of Ibuki’s scribblings, and eventually stopped on one decorated with many different colors splashed all over. In her over ecstatic handwriting was loosely written ‘art gallery’ and ‘Angie Mangie is a cultist freak! Just like me!” followed by a star and a smiley face. He gave a small smile at her comment, and then turned to Jataro, keeping a firm hold on the small boy’s hand.

“For the record, I’m sure that Nagisa and I like you, though I understand if you may not reciprocate those feelings towards me. However, I have a map and the art room is only a couple hallways away. May I be so privileged as to guide you?” 

Jataro looked confused and offended at Nagito’s kindness, but seemed to have given up, and after a roll of his eyes, allowed Nagito to pull him outside of the first ballroom and lead the way. His brown mask bounced along with Nagito’s hair down the black and white hallways, dim sunlight hitting dust and clothing of passing servants. Although, it made Nagito bittersweet as Jataro’s small hand trembled in his own. No wonder Nagisa was so worried about this small child. 

Eventually, they were able to arrive at the art room, and Nagito opened the door to something wild. There was paint scattered all over the art room, and lopsided canvases strung across the wall, which, honestly? It was a canvas all on its own. Buckets of colorful paint were dumped and mixed on the white tarps and it looked like a wild tornado had flown through the room and wreaked absolute havoc. Even the frames of the paintings were carved and decorated in a tribal, primitive art, and a model of the human body lay wickedly contorted and twisted in the corner, not even recognizable among all the chaos. 

And amidst all this calamity, stood the center of the havoc. A somewhat short girl with white hair tied in a disorderly ponytail with darker toned skin. She wore multiple necklaces and bracelets from an assortment of vivid cultures, and a short skirt that only reached her waist. Half of her stomach was untraditionally exposed and she also wore a pearly covering for her chest. On top of all this was a see-through yellow cloth that wrapped around her, and it seemed that several seashells and patterns had been haphazardly sewed onto it over the years. She reminded him of a tsunami, hair wind splayed like at a beach and seashells releasing a calm aura, but when it came down to it she was a catalyst, causing mischief and mess wherever she went. So, that was the famous Angie Yonaga. 

Her scribbly blue eyes widened and somehow lit up into a miraculous galaxy of stars as soon as she noticed Jataro, and she ran over to pull him away from Nagito and briskly pat him on the shoulder three times precisely. Leaning back from the irritated boy, she almost sparkled with delight as she leaned to the side, placed her hands behind her back, and opened her pink tinted lips to ask a question.

“Hello hello Jataro~! Did you pray to his greatness, Atua? Did you? Did you? He says that if you did he appreciates it!” She flashed a peace sign and quickly started repetitive conversation with little Jataro, who looked bored and unresponsive, muttering something about how she was just pretending to be nice to him. Ah, well. He was already late for the library, and knowing Kuro, that wasn’t going to go without consequences. He quickened his pace and gave a slight wave to Jataro who stared at him as he left. 

\---

Nagito checked the map one last time; Yes, this was definitely the library. He’d never been here before, and although it was rumored that no library compared to Jabberwock’s, he was sure that the Kamukura one would be impressive in its own way, just like everything in the palace was. So, with slight hesitation at the lashing Kuro would give him, he opened the door.

The first thing he saw was black. Black in front of him, and black as soon as he felt himself walk right into something. Soon enough, he was flailing and stumbling onto the ground, barely bringing his arms back to brace himself for a crash landing. He brought his palm up to his forehead, confusedly rubbing the place where it hurt, and then finally focused on the person in front of him, who was crossing their arms, disappointed and arrogant. It was Kuro. He looked down at Nagito, no expression to be read on his face other than patience and slight irritation. Wanting to avoid a dramatic confrontation, Nagito simply giggled nervously, pushing himself off of the stone cold floor. But it seemed that his wish bore no fruit. 

“I was about to leave thanks to your tardiness. If all you’re going to do is stay sprawled on the ground, then it seems I should just continue what I was doing. Goodbye.” Kuro nodded and started in his ever-constant quick pace to somewhere beyond. The clock seemed to freeze for a moment as Nagito considered his options. Should he just allow Kuro to leave as he pleased? He had no right to interfere, and from the knowledge he’d gained of Kuro thus far, he wasn’t one to change his own mind very freely. However, there was just one thing stopping the ball of white hair from scattering away to his own musings, and that was the entire reason that he was here in the first place. His highness. If he didn’t learn from Kuro to the fullest, he would never be able to meet the king of Kamukura. If he did that, his one use in this castle would be wasted, useless, and nothing, like a crumpled up letter tossed into the wastebasket. 

“Wait!” Nagito protested, reaching up from the floor to grab Kuro’s wrist. The raven turned around to look him up and down, and Nagito could practically read his thoughts. ‘Pathetic’ and ‘surprising’ must be in the jumble of what he was thinking, but he just couldn’t give up on Kuro yet. So, in his head, he prepared a sort of small speech and took a deep breath, a puff of air exiting his mouth as he gave a calmed exhale. 

“I’m afraid I wasn’t able to make it here in time because I was guiding one fo the other servants-in-training to the art room. I got over here as fast as I could, but I was just in time to run into you at the opening of the door. Now, if that is a sufficient enough explanation, please stay here and teach me what was originally planned, I beg of you.” Nagito’s pleading gaze met with Kuro’s whose face didn’t soften in the slightest, remaining statue firm and apathetic. Kuro pulled his wrist away from the other’s grasp, visibly holding back any expression of emotion. Nagito watched as, with smooth and perfected motions, Kuro gave the door a firm push and motioned for Nagito to walk inside. With a nod, Nagito smiled and brought himself up, bowing to Kuro before he took his first step in. A baritone voice interrupted his actions.

“How curious. It seems that whenever we interact, you seem to be begging for something or the other. I wonder what the king will think of your strange behaviour.” Nagito grimaced at Kuro’s words. It seemed that he was referring to the time where he had been forced to ask for directions. Although, he supposed Kuro wasn’t wrong. Even so, it truly was selfish of him to take up so much of Kuro’s time. The head butler was taut and respectable, someone hardly deserving of dealing with a parasite such as him. He was confident, talented, beautiful, and used every moment to the fullest. In fact, if Nagito wasn’t so dead focused on the king himself, he was certain that he would have the gall to fall for the butler himself.

“I suppose that is true. However, if you are so kind as to deal with it, I’m sure the king could even spare my worthless life. Anyway, what will we be discussing today?” 

Kuro’s response was delayed as always, and so Nagito took the time to admire the scenery around him. It was most definitely not nearly as impressive as the libraries of Jabberwock, but it was quaint and elegant nonetheless. Rows and rows of hardcover books laced with a small amount of dust lay strategically placed upon the bookshelves, and although some loose pages slipped out here and there, it was orderly, much as Nagito had expected it to be. Rather than being a stark black or white, the library was relatively of a warmer color palette, comforting browns and greens on the wallpaper and wooden flooring. There were several armchairs scattered all about the room, as well as tables topped with a circular lace. He could imagine peacefully spending his days here with coffee or tea, perhaps even lemonade. He was sure that Nagisa and Kirumi must stop by this room from time to time, and he thought somewhere in the back of his mind that he should invite them during free time. However, that pleasant imagination quickly dissipated as he was finally gifted a response from Kuro’s lips.

“Hm, today I was hoping to go over the history of Kamukura kingdom, so I brought you here so we’d have all the access to the materials. I am just barely surprised, though. Most people go in shock at our massive libraries, and yet your behaviour indicates that you are rather unimpressed. Explain.”  
Explain? Nagito almost gave a mocking snicker at Kuro’s wording. Instead of just asking a question, he phrased his query as an order, as that was so very much like him. But, rather, he opted for a polite smile, wondering how to explain the great fantasticality of the great libraries of his own birth kingdom. 

“Well, I was born in Jabberwock, which I’m sure you recognize, like everyone else, as the kingdom of great knowledge and science. We are not very religious there, so less money is spent on churches, and thus libraries are granted an enormous budget. So, when you grow up with the country’s greatest libraries as a child, you are burdened with high expectations of ones you see in other kingdoms, I suppose. Did that make a fair amount of sense?” He was sure he worded it as best he could, although with Kuro’s evolved way of thinking, it might not be enough. The male seemed just a little stunned at his answer, gazing off into the distance with some introspection.

“Interesting. When you meet the king, you should tell him about this as well. I-- and the king would truly be fascinated by these libraries. And here I thought I had read every book available. Very interesting indeed.”

Even though he was only spending time with Kuro so that he may see the king, Nagito was actually rather glad to be able to make him show some spark of emotion in this way. He smiled.

Running his fingers over the bookshelves, Kuro stopped on a rather thick book. It seemed heavy, but he carried it with ease. Turning to Nagito, who took weak hold of the book handed to him, he helped the albino to open a specific page that described the history of Kamukura; from the very beginning. 

“Before we start, what is your basic knowledge of Kamukura kingdom? You did enjoy bragging about the massive knowledge of yours, so I expect you to stand by your own words, yes?” He grunted, and Nagito suspected that he was hoping for a snappy response, much unlike his own. 

“Ahah, well, I never said that I had been able to absorb all that talent and knowledge. In fact, over the course of the next few days I do believe you’ll come to find it’s quite the opposite.”

Nagito smiled, took a deep breath, and tried to remember his in depth studying of the mysterious Kamukura kingdom. It had been a teenage phase, actually, when he’d gotten obsessed with the Taboo legend and conspiracy theories on the outcast of all five kingdoms. He couldn’t get enough of it, and he’d talk to professors and visit libraries to learn more. Perhaps the reason he was so drawn to Kamukura kingdom was that his parents were historians that focused on the kingdoms. It felt like he was continuing their work, like, he had a purpose. Alright, it was time to begin.

“But, from my studies, I know that Kamukura was rumored, not confirmed, to have been founded by two twin sisters that were the masterminds of the war between the five kingdoms. They eventually created Kingdom Kamukura, named after the orphanage they grew up in that had been founded by someone named Izuru Kamukura. The kingdom began chaotic and unruly, attracting only the most despicable and disorderly of people, or people that just had nowhere left to go. There were hardly any laws, and even the ones that existed at the time didn’t make an ounce of sense. It is often compared to the scenery in Alice and Wonderland, being whimsical and colorful but also insane gibberish.”

He raised an eyebrow, wondering to Kuro if he should continue. 

“After the death of the two twins, Kamukura gained two kings that ruled over it benevolently, doing their best to change the chaos. These two kings were employed under the great six generals of the Havoc war, and their names were Kiyotaka Ishimaru and Mondo Oowada. Unlike other royalty of the time, they lived nearly a hundred years, until death finally claimed them. They, however, had adopted a child from the Izuru Kamukura orphanage named Chihiro Fujisaki, who continued to rule after their death for a long time, and his children ruled, and their grandchildren ruled, until eventually the line just… stopped. The next heir was said to be Chiaki Nanami, who is supposedly as old as both you and I. However, she mysteriously disappeared, and the kingdom was left without a ruler, sprung into chaos.”

He took another breath. Kuro was staring at him intently, wide-eyed at this long spiel of information he’d been giving. Well, that was the first time he’d surprised Kuro, and Nagito was excited to take it even further.

“Eventually, some of Jabberwock’s royalty, well, more scientists than royalty if you ask me, came over to sort out the situation, compelled by their alliance with Havoc to take action when Havoc was occupied with other things. And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, a new heir was announced. And when I say announced, he was just announced. The public received no name, no face, and not even a voice from their new ruler, all they knew was that things started changing out of nowhere. The laws and rules of the kingdom became perfected, crime rates went down, alliances with other kingdoms were suddenly appearing, and everything started shaping along perfectly. Too perfectly, according to the public. Riots began from the public, demanding to see the face of the king and discover what nasty tricks he was using as his methods. However, most surprisingly, this did not lead to the kingdom’s downfall. Rather, they were easily quieted down, and haven’t started again for around a year and a half. That’s all the information I know. How did I do?” 

Nagito gave a large smile at Kuro’s reaction, and his heart fluttered at the results that his useless ramblings had produced. Kuro had placed a hand over his straight lined mouth, eyes slightly wide as they gazed at Nagito. He shook away this new expression, and then glanced to the side, almost embarrassed, as a touch of pink found itself on his cheeks, giving thema rosy tint. 

“You say you didn’t absorb much of your kingdom’s knowledge, and yet you seem to be more interested in this kingdom than I and the king are. In fact, I’ve read nearly all the books on this kingdom’s history, and yet you even know more than me.”

That blush was priceless. Nagito thought about earlier, when he’d claimed that if he wasn’t going for his highness, then he’d have fallen for Kuro. Perhaps it was still a possibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd that's all folks! Thanks for reading til the end, you're amazing and fantastic !!!


	6. Picture Books and 'Animation'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito has a discussion about the invention hoping to be made by his next guide to the dining hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't add many notes right now, but here's today's update! Thanks for all your support, I hope you enjoy!

On the second day of his training, and after his speech about the history of Kamukura kingdom, Kuro seemed to have decided that Nagito didn’t need any of the information that he was going to be taught that day. So, Nagito suggested that he explore the library to his own discretion, and that Kuro do as he pleased. His offer pleased Kuro, and so Nagito pursed through the endless shelves of novels and historical fiction, occasionally flipping through different books. One was a book on Towa Kingdom, he had been curious to find out about Nagisa’s and Jataro’s situation. From what he read, it seemed to be pretty terrible. After around thirty or forty minutes of pulling out books and replacing them, Nagito eventually took out a children’s picture book about the palace staff called ‘maids and butlers.’ 

According to its publishing date, it was made around the time that Mondo and Ishimaru were the kings. He’d never actually read stories from the kingdom of Kamukura before, so he was curious to see. He walked back over to sit down on the chair next to Kuro, who gave a puzzled look at his choice in books, but turned away and returned to his book on crime in Harmonia (the kingdom had gotten a name change to boost its image recently). Flipping through the square pages of his own picture book, Nagito couldn’t help but let out a small giggle at the illustrations.

Giggles turned into snickers, and then into the laughter, filling the room. Kuro looked concerned, after all, his laugh had always sounded like one from an evil wizard or something else of the sort. Soon the scratchy melody echoed throughout the room, and Nagito raised a bent finger to wipe a single tear from his eye. When he looked up, he met Kuro’s confused eyes. 

“Are you really so childish as to laugh at a simple children’s picture book? Pathetic.” And he glanced away, an irritated smile twitching at the edge of his lips.

Nagito huffed, of course it must seem strange from an outsider's perspective. “Ah, looking at these traditional and elegant maids and butlers is just such a stark contrast to the staff that I work with here. Not that I like these ones better, I actually much prefer the vibrant Kamukura workers compared to the ones in this book, but it's just really quite laughable.”

Kuro didn’t respond. Nagito was determined to keep the conversation going, so he decided to indulge in his curiosities.

“May I ask, why is the Kamukura palace staff so… eccentric? It surely isn’t just a coincidence, I’m sure of that. So why do you and Kirumi choose to hire just about anyone and everyone? You’d think there’d be some regulations in the process, correct?”

Kuro gently placed his book in a pyramid position on the table between them, and let out a brief sigh before he gave a response immediately, unlike his previous answers.

“I assumed you might have deduced that already, but I shouldn’t have such high expectations of people, as always. Remember how I drilled into you that his highness does not like being bored? Well, he figured, that with such a wild variety of different people from different kingdoms, the palace would be much more lively and entertaining than it was before his rule. So, he, I, and Kirumi traveled to different kingdoms to recruit people of many talents and personalities, and we occasionally send out parties of people out to follow up on rumors of what you would call ‘mad geniuses.’ We coax these ostentatious people to join our staff by offering good pay, housing, and occasionally other benefits as protection, materials, and, in your case, a chance to court the king.”

Unlike how Kuro had expected, he was sure that he never would have found out all that just from the information he had been given, but this explanation definitely satisfied him. He even felt slightly filled with wonder at this great accumulation of talent and brain in this small palace. And to think, the only way he got here was his own idiotic luck. No wonder he had felt out of place this whole time. There was one thing he was still confused about, however.

“You have a look of puzzlement on your face, what is it? Did I really push that much information onto you?”

Nagito shook his head. “No, it was just something you said a couple seconds ago. You say the king went with you and Kirumi to scout out the staff, but I thought the king’s face and name were supposed to remain hidden, along with the rest of his appearance and voice. It would be off-brand of the palace to just let him wander about so freely.”

Kuro glanced to the side, and leaned his cheek onto the knuckles of his hand. “Think about it. if the public had never seen, heard, nor even heard the name of their king, could they really spot him out if he wasn’t obvious? Even if the king wanted to reveal himself in public, people wouldn’t believe him. After all, there are thousands of mentally ill people who scream that they are the king of Kamukura, and yet each of them is either shut down by natural events or by interference of the royal palace. You see, that is the advantage of his highness not having a name or face. He can wander about in public without people acting differently around him. It makes for an entertaining way of ruling, as far as he and I are concerned.”

Honestly, hearing all that made Nagito feel like he had just solved an unsolvable mystery. Of course the king could go about freely! No one knew him as the king, and he could just use an alias. He could’ve even already met the king already, as well as many people in the staff and even ordinary citizens outside the palace itself. Amazing. Truly, the king was an amazing person indeed. 

“That’s all for today, meet me here again tomorrow.”

\---

Nagito was already ready to head out for his third day of training, he’d woken up extra early today in anticipation of meeting Kuro again. He confidently grabbed the silver doorknob and turned it, ready to see who had just knocked at the door. 

In front of him stood a slouched man, who could be around his age, but he looked more like a teenager. His large, slanted eyes shone a dead yellow, and his hands were clasped over his chest as if he were trying to keep himself steady. His tan hair was tinted a rosy pink, and under long-ish eyelashes were faded black eyebags that reflected a night of no rest. His appearance was rushed and scruffy, a long sleeved white shirt with sleeves rolled up that was accompanied by a green tie that was falling off by the millisecond. He seemed to be out of it and sweating nervously, mumbling something about how it was ‘the second time he’d left his room this week.’ It only took a few seconds for Nagito’s eyes to widen. He recognized this person, it was the person who had been sitting with Jataro at the dining hall, who had been Jataro’s guide for the day. Although Nagito had sat with him at the round table, he stayed silent during the conversation made, and when Nagito had glanced in his direction, he had been scribbling some sort of illustration onto the napkin, constantly erasing wobbly lines or mistakes. 

His guide gave a short bow and glanced up at Nagito, then spoke up in a quiet, tired, and scratchy voice. “I… I’m sorry I’m so ill prepared to accompany you, but I got sent here on quick notice and-- anyway, my name is Ryota Mitarai and I’ll be taking… you…? To the dining hall and then the first ballroom. You-- you are Nagito, right? My mind is fuzzy and I’m not sure if I have the right place…”

Nagito nodded and Ryota seemed relieved, starting off towards his destination in a slow and shaky pace. After hearing all that explanation about the unique staff of Kamukura from Kuro, he really couldn’t help but wonder what Ryota was here for. He didn’t seem like he wanted to be here at all, or that he was being forced to do this labor. But he must have some reason, right?

“What are you working here for? I mean, I’ve been offered the privilege of courting the king, so I’m curious as to what you’re trying to accomplish here.”

Ryota looked up at him puzzled, and pointed at himself. “Me? You want to know what I’m working on? No one’s ever asked me that before…” A couple lazy seconds passed by before Nagito looked at him and Ryota suddenly remembered that he should probably continue. “Well, I’d be happy to tell you, I’m very passionate about it. I’m… trying to invent something.”

Nagito’s curiosity sparked on further. What was Ryota trying to invent? “Invent something? What is it?”

Ryota smiled at Nagito’s shared enthusiasm, and seemed to finally give in to honesty. “Well, it's kind of hard for me to explain, so let me start at the beginning. You know plays done at theaters and such?” Nagito nodded. “I used to watch them all the time as a kid, and though I was too frail to act, I always wanted to have some involvement in them. So, I started trying to design stage costumes. But when I put my mind to drawing designs and sowing them up, it felt tasteless and boring. I, however, started feeling much more interested in drawing the people I’d seen in art so much. Now, I know this sounds crazy, but… honestly? I started to think that maybe I could create a play from drawings. What if I could recreate movements with several drawings layered on top of each other of each and every frame in time? So, I started talking to people about it… and I got recommended… to a mental hospital.” 

His confidence had wavered near the end, but Nagito kept staring at him intently, egging him on to continue. 

“Okay, so, then I was visited by some of the head staff here… and after explaining my idea, they said that if I worked at the palace, I’d have access to a lot of art materials. All I’d have to do was draw out furniture and clothing designs and place them in a box outside my door for the head maid to pick up. Now, that was enough on its own, but believe it or not, they actually offered to let me work with the scientists of Jabberwock!” Ryota’s face lit up, and he was now too buried in his own joy to worry about being self conscious. “So, now I’m working with them to invent a way to have my drawings automatically move one after the other, to create something similar to a play made of art that can be repeated over and over, we decided to call it animation. But, in order to make it, I have to keep working tirelessly to create a flowing movement with drawings that is nothing less than perfect. So, that’s why… I’m kind of bothered that I have to walk you around this morning.”

Realizing the implications of his words, Ryota seized up and clasped his hands over his mouth and became slightly flushed. Nagito hadn’t actually minded that last part, after all, he was sure anyone who had to spend time with him felt the same way. Like a shining, bright star, reaching down to pull up a measly grass blade from the earth, he simply wasn’t on their level. 

“I’m sorry! Not that you specifically are a bother, I just had to leave my room, and that made me do less work than I had wanted to, and I was so unprepared at the time… and oh god I probably just seem like I’m rambling and making excuses…” He glanced at Nagito and immediately shot his eyes in a different direction, a guilty aura permeating the atmosphere of the bustling hall where the dining hall was located. 

Nagito gave a reassuring smile that he was sure Ryota didn’t catch, so he decided to use words instead of actions instead. “It's fine Ryota, I’ve made peace with the fact that I’m a burden to everyone. There’s no need to hide something so painfully obvious. Anyways, this animation thing--”

That seemed to make the nervous male feel even worse, as he placed a shaky hand in front of Nagito right before they entered the dining hall. His louder voice made Nagito’s hair lift up just slightly. “I swear I’m not annoyed by you! …sorry, I didn’t mean to raise my voice. Actually, I was hoping to find someone to watch and react to my animation, and my interaction with you has convinced me that you’re the one. I-if you want to, of course… my room is kinda far away from yours so it might take ten or fifteen minutes to get there, and I wouldn’t want to waste your free time.”

Nagito was surprised at the reaction, and although he still seemed to disagree with that first sentence, he was intrigued by the possibility of someone like him being able to see a miracle invention in the works. It felt unbelievable that his luck had gotten him invited to such a meeting. “Sure, I’d love to. I have a map, so there’s no need for me to worry about finding your room. Does 5:00 work for you?” Ryota smiled and enthusiastically nodded, opening the door to the dining hall to face the bustling crowds. 

After Nagito picked up his silver platter and shared a quick and silly exchange with the chef as Ryota cowered behind him, they both walked into the main arrangements of tables. Nagito quickly glanced around, and his eyes narrowed on the bright patch of orange next to brown and blue on one of the tables. Although as he got closer, it seemed that these colors were accompanied by black and yellow as well. He and Ryota each pulled out a wooden chair and sat down, scooting into the round table and opening their platters to reveal their meals. 

“I’m telling you, you act all smug and mean when you have more of a baby face than me! Not to mention you’re shorter too! So don’t go judging me for not fitting my appearance, dumbass!” Blonde pigtails spouted as Hiyoko stood from her thair and looked down upon the irate male before her. Said male was Fuyuhiko, one of his peers training to be a part of the Kamukura royal guard, who stood up and slammed his hands on the table, eyebrow twitching.

“I-- wh-- I never said I was judging you! I just said shit about how I was surprised with your weird personality! But insulting my height AND my face!? Now that is going too far, you fucker!” Fuyuhiko yelled, and stretched his arm back to punch her across the table. Ryota squeaked, Jataro didn’t even notice, and Nagisa had a frustrated look in his eye. They were starting to catch attention now, and Nagito was about to stand up and take the punch for himself when-- 

“Will the both of you shut up?! Honestly, demons can’t argue without getting violent, can they? Let’s just agree that this was a misunderstanding. My ears are pounding from your yelling, we’re catching everyone’s attention and asking for trouble, and don’t you see how much you’re scaring Jataro and Ryota? Now sit down and act like respectable human beings before I report you both to the higher ups and neither of your training is completed. As much as I hate talking to those figures of authority, you two would be worth it. Hmph.” Nagisa sighed and sat back down on his chair, folding his arms and shocking Nagito with his outstanding maturity for his age. Jataro went back to peeling the skin off his grapes, and Ryota muttered a thank you before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. Hiyoko seemed to have been embarrassed by the fact that she had just been lectured by a child, and gave an angry and vocal huff before plopping down onto her chair. Fuyuhiko, however, remained standing. 

“How much damn audacity does a kid like you think he has to think that you’d even have the authority to report me to the higher ups!? Are you insane in the head--”

Nagito placed a hand on Fuyuhiko’s shoulder and pushed him down onto his chair, sending a warning glance to Fuyuhiko, who gritted his teeth and glared at Nagito for an explanation. “I know Nagisa, and I believe that he is able to get you fired. We have five days to give the best impression we can, so if you really want whatever they told you you’d get by working here, I recommend you sit down.” His tone of voice was friendly, but laced with a deadly poison. Fuyuhiko’s eyes seemed to widen for a second before returning to their ever angry slant, and Fuyuhiko crossed his arms before settling down, visibly upset. Nagisa gave a brief but reluctant nod of the head to Nagito in thanks. 

It was too silent. Nagito decided to cheer everyone up. It was the least he could do. 

“Nagisa, Jataro, Fuyuhiko, Hiyoko, where are your guides for the day? Mine’s Ryota, right here, but I assumed they’d be sitting with you. Are they off at another table?” It took a few seconds for one of them to respond, leaving Nagito waiting in anticipation.

It was Nagisa who spoke up first. His voice softened a little, and he glanced at Jataro as he gave his answer. “Jataro told me that he was guided by you to the art room when he was lost yesterday, so I told Kirumi that I would handle the responsibility of guiding him around everyday instead of having someone else do it. It’s a bit more work to do, but this helps protect him from the demons anyway.” Nagito nodded and congratulated them while wondering about the word ‘demon.’ Who had taught them to call all adults that way?

Fuyuhiko told them what had happened to his guide next, almost bragging and narcissistic in a way. “Mine was just a shitty little scaredy-cat. Called her a whore and she started stuttering and apologizing like some record on repeat. She eventually ran away, though it's not like I give a shit. I can find the way here and to Sakakura on my own anyway, so there’s no need for her pointless presence.” He gave a cruel snicker, and ran his hand through his partially shaved hair. Hiyoko seemed to be annoyed at his words, so she decided to argue against him as civilly as possible. 

“Hey now, don’t call that dumbass pig face a whore alright! If Mahiru won’t let me do that anymore, then there’s no way in hell you’ll escape her wrath if you, a male, yell at her like that. Speaking of Mahiru, she stumbled upon a guy making rude advances onto Kirumi on our way here, so I just left before she tortured him with a five hour lecture on why women should be treated with the ‘utmost respect.’”

After that, the conversations at the table mostly devolved into Fuyuhiko accusing Mahiru of being a sexist for only getting mad at boys, and Hiyoko arguing right back. Nagisa and Jataro occasionally talked about a couple people who he’d only been able to grasp the names of, ‘Masaru, Kotoko, and ‘that jerk’ Monaca.’ Apparently the five of them had worked together to fight against adults in Towa Kingdom, and that Monaca had tricked them into following some perverted philosophy that she was only using to make them the equivalent of her servants. Nagisa was also constantly reminding Jataro to eat his food before time ran out, so they could get to the art room on time. Nagito made small talk with Ryota, who was shy but eager to respond about questions surrounding his ‘animation’ project, and was more than thrilled to find out that Nagito had grown up in Jabberwock. Nagito had managed to get the names of the scientists that Ryota was working with, and was excited to hear that the famous Miu Iruma and her assistant Kiibo were going to visit soon to help with. 

He coaxed Ryota to make sure to drop a note under his door or something to tell him of their arrival, so that he could meet them in person. He wasn't interested in science, of course, but in his taboo/conspiracy theory phase he’d been quite involved in the rumor that Kiibo was an artificially made human. Maybe bonding with Kiibo and his boss when they arrived could help him confirm his suspicions. Overall, he was certain that with experiences like these, he would surely look forward to breakfast every day. In fact, with all these people doting on a nothing like him, he was much happier than his lonesome existence in the Komaeda manor a couple days ago. He truly must be lucky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! You're loved, have a good day!


	7. Kamukura Staff and 'Kuro'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito goes into the secret tunnels labeled on Ibuki's map and finds an interesting person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, it's been a while. I'm trying to get this chapter out as fast as I can, so just quickly, I'm here to say that there's to be no more scheduled updates. I'll try to update once every two weeks, though!

"Wait." Kuro said gently, yet firmly, as Nagito had turned to leave. It was the second day of his training, and he had just been told by Kuro that today's session was over. What else could Kuro possibly need from someone like him? 

"Yes? What is it, Kuro?" Nagito paused and backed away from the wooden door frame of the library. Kuro motioned for him to come over, and so Nagito did what he considered to be his only option. Oblige. Once Nagito was a good two or three feet away from the armchair Kuro was settled down in, Kuro spoke. 

"It's been plaguing my mind ever since you mentioned it, so tell me. I've been to Jabberwock Kingdom with Kirumi and his highness before to recruit someone, but I was never able to visit a library. Now, and this is hypothetically speaking, did you learn all that information about Kamukura kingdom from your libraries back home? Is it possible your kingdom contains more information about this one than we do ourselves?"

Oh. It seemed Kuro had gotten the wrong idea. He nervously twirled a strand of hair and shook his head. He didn't even have to look at Kuro to know that the curious butler was waiting for an explanation.

"Oh no, you see, I had a period of two years in my life where I became dedicated to the very concept of your kingdom. I traveled a fair bit and interviewed a lot of people, even if I scared most of them away by my demeanor. I've stabilized my personality since then, so I'd love to continue my research, but once I get passionate about a topic I truly do become something that could only become a monster."

Kuro only nodded in acknowledgement of Nagito's words, and pushed a strand of stark black hair out of his face before picking up his book and continuing from where he left off. Nagito sat down on the chair opposite Kuro, wondering whether he was free to go or not. As he stared at the other in anticipation, Nagito couldn't help but notice that Kuro's stable gaze on the pages was part of a bored expression ridden on his face. Those ebony lashes of his always lowered slowly as he blinked, covering and revealing red every few seconds, and hypnotizing to the point that Nagito didn't even bother to stop with his admittedly creepy behaviour. 

In fact, it must have taken a good twenty seconds before Nagito realized that those scarlet orbs had met his, and that the two of them were intensely gazing into each other's expressions. He quickly tore his gaze from Kuro's, embarrassment smattering his cheeks. 

"I'll be excusing myself now, see you tomorrow Kuro!" He stood up and frantically made his way to the library exit, shakily grabbing the doorknob. And it really must’ve been his luck affecting him in that moment, because his mind, even later as he slowly mulled it over, truly could not fathom how the doorknob had been broken in the hours that the two of them had explored the library. He finally gave up on managing to get the door open, and let out a soft sigh as he shooed the blush away from his face and turned around to confront Kuro. And, to be fair, he wasn’t that surprised that Kuro had his face buried back in that book, eyes scanning the pages with inhuman speed, while his thumb filtered through the musky pages as well. 

Making his steps slow and concentrated, Nagito patted down his white curls and smoothed them out the best he could until he arrived at Kuro’s armchair. He raised a narrow finger and gently tapped Kuro’s shoulder with a question in mind, and it was about ten seconds before Kuro closed his book over his thumb and turned to face him. His scarlet eyes traced over Nagito’s face, as if for the past few minutes he had completely tuned out his surroundings and forgotten that Nagito had not left yet. 

“I thought you were leaving. Tell me, what are you bothering me for? Whatever it is I can assure you it will not be worth either of our times.”Kuro blinked, and Nagio glanced aside guiltily. It seems that Kuro didn’t notice everything after all. Seeing as Kuro was-- not eagerly-- but complacently awaiting a response, Nagito raised a finger to scratch his chin. 

“Sorry, I know I’m only bothering you, but it seems that the doorknob has been broken.” Nagito stated. A flash of curiosity flashed in Kuro’s eyes, and yet he seemed to put it aside. He once again set his book down in a triangular position on the table, and got up to assist Nagito. 

Somehow, the butler had the wonderful talent of repairing the doorknob on his own, and Nagito waved goodbye as he gently creaked the library door shut.

\---

‘Meet me here again tomorrow.’ 

Those were the words of Kuro, were they not? So when Nagito arrived cheerily at the library to meet him again, it truly bedazzled him that the ever so strict and well kept butler was nowhere to be seen.

At first, the white haired male had brushed it off gently and politely assumed that Kuro must have either forgotten about his existence entirely, or was simply running late. And while the former was far more likely, he decided to trust in the latter and wait. He read an entire novel about a girl and a garden, though he didn’t find it all that interesting. He had really just skimmed through the pages to gasp the story and only continued to be satisfied at its eventual ending. Reading that novel had taken two hours, and Kuro was nowhere in his line of sight. Nagito, a little disheartened, returned his book to the bookshelf and pushed open the door that the mysterious butler had repaired for him the other day.

Well, he supposed that things like this should only be bound to happen, especially to someone like him. So, he’d take this opportunity that Lady Luck had granted him and use it to perform a certain task that he’d been meaning to get to. Clean. He had missed the strange pastime that he used to partake in at his old manor, and making something into a pristine work of art, especially an elegant palace such as this one, always seemed to bring him some form of peace and comfort. 

As he scoured the hallways, he silently thanked Ibuki for that map she’d drawn him so kindly, and fondly glanced over the colorful soul placed within the parchment. He’d never realized to what extent that the map was detailed, but now as his eyes flickered over the scrawlings of the musician, he was sure that she must have a talent for mapmaking as well. He was able to track down the location of the cleaning supplies that was nearest to him, and eventually arrived at his destination. It was a small broom closet, but inside there was a water storage, a couple of buckets to hold the water, as well as soap, rags, and a large assortment of cleaning tools were set there. He didn’t have the time to inform Kirumi or another servant that he’d be borrowing them, so he pulled out a spare piece of paper and scribbled down that if they needed to track the equipment, he’d be in the first ballroom. He stumbled down the halls to that first ballroom, barely managing to pull himself with all the equipment he’d gathered. Even though he caught a couple concerned glances on the way there, in the end, he finally arrived to shove open that towering yellow door.

Well, not quite shove open. First, he gently pushed the wooden frame to create a crack of light coming from the first ballroom, and then stuck his head to see if anybody was there. A light ghost of a smile graced his lips as there was no one in sight. So, he bumbled in there, and got to work. Cleaning certainly hadn’t lost its charm. For around an hour, he ran a wet rag with soap over the many amasses of the walls, and lightly sent dust flying into the air with a feather duster. He had even started quietly humming a tune by her highness Kaede Akamatsu when someone else came in through the door. 

The poof of a dress and the ruffling of laced sleeves briskly yet sophisticatedly approached him, and when he finally looked he was greeted by that vampire pale face that belonged to… who was it again…? Ah, that was right. Miss Celestia, or Duchess Celestia Ludenburg is what she had preferred he addressed her as. He supposed thinking about it, out of all the people he knew he would’ve run into her. After all, she was training to become a maid, so she was most likely sent here by Kirumi to clean as well. Perhaps he could offer a hand to help. To help a future such as hers to shine bright he would give it his all.

“Ahem. Komaeda. May I ask what you are doing… cleaning here? It is my job, did your brain just skip out on that?” She cleared her throat and happily tilted her head, at least outwardly, Hidden among the many layers of voice, Nagito could hear just a twinge of annoyance. Well, it wasn’t abnormal to be annoyed at him. 

“Ah, forgive me, but my mentor decided that I wasn’t worthwhile enough for his presence today, so I felt as if I should make myself useful. Do you mind if I assist you for the remainder of your time here? It would be an honor to aid you, duchess.” Nagito gave the best smile he could, selfishly hoping to befriend this one as well. Celestia opened her mouth as if her mind was already made up, then closed it as if she was stalling time ‘pretending’ to think. And when she talked again, her answer was loud and clear.

“No. Leave, and don’t return today. I think I will be perfectly fine without your help.”

Nagito conceded to her harsh words. Another bit of joy cut short, he supposed. “Ahaha. I understand, duchess, but may I ask why?” It shouldn’t be that hard to answer, correct?

She giggled. “Not necessarily as a threat, but, if I’m being honest with you, Komaeda, I do not like nor respect you or your position in this palace at all. To be fair, I was hoping to just proposition you with the notion to, as they say it, ‘agree to disagree.’ Believe me when I say, that would be the best outcome for our relationship that you are so desperately trying to build. So, what do you say?”

“I will accept the conclusion that you came to, so as you wish, Celeste. Now, I suppose I should be going. Good luck!” And before awaiting a response from the doll-like girl, he gave a short bow and made his way out of the first ballroom.

Well, now that sanitary work wasn’t an option, what was he to do now? He could always go clean somewhere else, but now that he’d been dissuaded from the task, he really didn’t plan to return to it. He once again pulled out that trusty piece of paper, and his eyes spiraled over the rooms for what felt like the hundredth time that day. Oh, that was right! He could always explore those secret tunnels that Ibuki had been so eager to include on the map. He’d been meaning to see them for himself, and if he wasn’t supposed to, then he could always rely on his luck to get him out of trouble. If not, then it was simply his fate.

The nearest entrance was actually in the cleaning supplies closet that he had just been to, so he figured it would be productive to just use that one. From there, he would walk past the first ballroom, then he had an opportunity to enter the second ballroom, and then…

He could enter the throne room. 

It was a foolish idea, so he tossed it out of his mind in an instant. It was his whole purpose here to be patient and ready to meet the king in two days' time, and he might even be thrown from the palace if he were caught. It was a valiant thing that he’d convinced himself otherwise before his curiosity killed the cat. 

As instructed on the details about the secret tunnels, he pushed aside the small dresser full of tattered and dilapidated cloths and rags until a small trap door that he could barely squeeze through became visible. He unlatched the door and crawled in, making sure to pull the dresser in a way that it would conceal the hidden entrance. With those preparations complete, Nagito lowered the trapdoor to a close, and turned around to face the maze in front of him. 

While there were plenty of instructions on where the tunnels lead, he didn’t actually have a separate map of the system of passageways. He’d have to glance down at the map every so often, trying to understand where he must be at the palace, and whether it was due to his own intuition, or his luck, was beyond him. (Although it was most likely the work of the latter.) He soon arrived at the entrance to the throne room, and gave a furtive glance towards that tempting door before walking on. After all, the dim lit torches littered across the hallways wouldn’t last forever. 

Click.

Rattle.

Creak.

Nagito’s eyes widened in horror as he heard the trap door from the throne room open and close behind a stranger. Not just a stranger, was it possible that it could be the king himself? If he were caught, he could be executed, hanged, or, in the best case scenario, just fired, but there was no way he’d get out of that trouble. He had to run. No, he had to hide? Should he just hope for the best? Hope.. he shook his head. All this thinking was working against him, he barely had any time left. In fact, the stranger had probably seen him already, after he’d heard the stranger’s footsteps. Nagito braced for his discovery.

Feeling the stranger's eyes dead set on his back, Nagito was about to turn around, because of guilt? Curiosity? 

“...Who are you?”

The voice felt familiar, too familiar, and yet he couldn’t recognize it at all. 

\---

“...Who are you?” said a scratchy voice. Nagito blinked. Where did he recognize that voice from? He couldn’t place it, and he had yet to see what the stranger looked like. There was just something about the deep and serene quality of the stranger’s voice that his mind found itself drawn to, like the familiar call of a friend or even a pet. Nagito started to turn around and face the strange man, anticipation flowing through the blood in his veins. 

Kuro.

The form of Kuro stood right there in the dim torch light, red flares accentuating the ruby red of his eyes. That normally stark scarlet, however, felt different for some reason, more sympathetic and lively as if they’d been touched by nature’s spirit in some brilliantly vibrant green forest. It wasn’t just his eyes, either. ‘Kuro’ was standing without his usual suit blazer on, slouching, scratching his neck and conveying an uncharacteristic sense of vulnerability. This person was at the very least not the version of Kuro he’d been introduced to.

“You look like Kuro, and yet your mannerisms are changed. Tell me, who are you?” Nagito tilted his head, hoping to satiate his curiosity. 

“You know him as Kuro then? You wouldn’t be the first, but I hadn’t heard of another. Honestly, he really doesn’t think that I need to know anything.” The man huffed and rolled his eyes to himself. So he wasn’t Kuro then? Did Kuro have a split personality? Not only that, but his words seemed to indicate that Kuro was only an alias. 

Nagito egged on for more information, as selfish as it may be. “If you are not Kuro, who are you? Another personality within him? A twin? A devil disguised as the real thing? You need not worry, I won’t judge nor disclose this information. For all my pointless ramblings, I am actually rather skilled at keeping my lips sealed.” He peered into those unfamiliar orbs, his own eyes wide and scrambled. ‘Kuro’ raised an eyebrow, and then snorted before raising a single sleeved arm to muffle laughter. From those actions alone, yes, Nagito could definitely be assured that this was not Kuro. 

The soft chuckles subsided, and the male sighed. “You sound like you wouldn’t even care if I really were a demon from the very depths of hell. Kuro wouldn’t like it if I told you this, but I think I can trust you? Who knows, maybe it's because I haven’t talked to someone in a while. If that’s the case, then, man, I really must be going crazy.” He glanced off to the distance, pausing a moment before returning his intriguing attention to Nagito. “My name is Hajime Hinata. I don’t really have the liberty to explain anything else, so I guess that’s the best I can do for you, uhh…” 

Nagito smiled. He’d managed to retrieve Hajime’s name. “Nagito Komaeda. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hajime Hinata.” He held out his hand, but didn’t seem to react as he’d planned. The new version of Kuro lit up like a flame, and his eyes widened like saucers as he took a step back. Hajime’s face was flushed over, and he glanced to the side as he sputtered out an explanation at a very fast rate.

“You’re the one that-- we’re-- I-- the king’s going to marry!? Oh no, I wasn’t supposed to tell you all that stuff, and you-- you’re not even supposed to be down here!” Hajime panicked, and Nagito could just scarcely hear him muttering “shit, shit, shit” in hoarse breaths.

Nagito was secretly relieved. After all, he had feared that he might’ve done or said something wrong, or that Hajime had some concealed reason to fear or hate him. The reason he provided was rather odd, though.Why would Hajime/Kuro have a negative reaction to the fact that he was to marry the king? Did he not approve of the king’s decision? Did he not want the king to get married? Why wouldn’t he-- Oh.

Oh.

“Aha, don’t worry Hajime, I’ll keep you and Kuro’s secret. I’ll simply behave as if I hadn’t realized the truth right now.” Hajime panicked at his words, solidifying the conclusion he had reached. It was really despairing and hopeful at the same time, Kuro/Hajime’s situation, how tragic!

“Oh, shit. You’ve figured it out?” 

“Indeed I have. It truly is sad, for you two to be in love with the king, and then meet me down here. Kuro’s even teaching me! I really wouldn’t mind if you pulled a knife on me right on the spot, in fact, I’d surrender with no struggle, Hajime Kuro. Ahahahaha!” Nagito flew into a daze of frenzy, not noticing the agape and confused expression on Hajime’s face, which seemed to be lost in thought. He finally realized the implications of Nagito’s words and proceeded to snort and place his hand on Nagito’s shoulder. The white haired boy flinched at the contact and snapped his gaze to meet Hajime’s.

“No-- that’s wrong, Nagito! It’s not like that, I swear!” He stuttered a bit on the explanation. Nagito gave a knowing glance in Hajime’s direction. He was stubborn to the end, even trying to deny it as soon as Nagito found out. It was a shame, too, that Kuro and Hajime were so enamoured with someone else. He had been thinking not to long ago that if he failed to court the king, then he’d like to dote on Kuro and this new version of Kuro, if only for a short while. After all, failure was entirely a possibility, especially in his case. Now that he thought about it, it would be kind to allow Hajime and Kuro to know that information. 

“I wouldn’t worry, though, Hajime. There’s a fair chance that I’ll fail to reach the marriage stage in the first place. In fact, with someone like me factored in, it’s even more of a fair chance that this’ll only come out with a bad result…” Hajime’s face seemed to darken at his words, like he knew something Nagito didn’t. “What is it, Hajime?”

“That’s what’s so stupid about this.” Hajime sighed before seemingly traveling into a world of his own with his words. “The king, he’s planning to marry you whether you fail or not. I convinced him to give you a chance, but there’s not much you can do by leaving a note before you delve into your own consciousness. That insensitive prick only brought you here because he needed a public figure that wasn’t him, I don’t even think he believes in love!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, have a nice day!


	8. First Meetings and Four Leafed Clovers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hajime and Nagito part ways, and Nagito remembers something he promised to do a bit too late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, didn't expect me to get another chapter out that fast, huh? Well, you could say I'm having,,, what do you call the opposite of writers block? I don't know, but yeah I'm having a burst of energy when it comes to writing. I hope you enjoy!

At that moment, Hajime’s words reminded Nagito of something, only for a split second. It was all the way back at the very first day of his training, right after he’d finished with the tour, and was introduced to Kuro.

Kirumi and Celestia had left the first ballroom, elegant dresses bouncing with each step. At the notion that Kuro was intently staring at him, Nagito flinched and turned his gaze to the ground. He already knew for a fact that him and Kuro hadn’t gotten off necessarily on the right foot, so it was just his luck that the apathetic head butler was going to be the one he’d spend the most time with for the next four days. He gave a short and respectful bow before standing back up and making an attempt to look into those hostile red eyes. 

“Why did you bow just now? Are you not aware that you are of a higher ranking and wealth than me? Or do you submit yourself to everyone?” Kuro asked, not quite judgingly, his voice more ridden with the curiosity of a child who wasn’t aware of what they were asking.

“Well, think about it. I’m nothing but a lowly human who, before coming here, sulked around in his manor all day and is only well off because of mere chance and inheritance from his parents. The only work I would do is mild cleaning, but nothing really else.” He smiled, and lifted a hand in Kuro’s direction. “And then there’s you. You’ve worked your way up into one of the higher, if not the highest, ranking jobs in this astounding palace, and by working hard everyday to maintain its beauty, you are contributing to the kingdom and it’s society. With that in mind, I do consider you to be more respected and higher up than me.”

Nagito watched as Kuro tapped his fingers on the side of the red armchair absentmindedly, and noted how the red of the chair was comparably dull compared to the ruby red of the butler’s eyes. Said eyes were darting over Nagito’s features, albeit uncomfortably.

“I expected you to just give a feeble excuse such as ‘politeness’ or ‘courtesy’ but you actually went out of your way to explain your reasoning. Better than most, but might I add that I didn’t ask you that in order to hear your entire life story.”

Ah, he’d gone off rambling again, hadn’t he. No wonder Kuro had been looking at him as if he was an annoyance this whole time. Then again, it seemed like these days everyone did. Except Ibuki, as well as Kirumi, but sometimes he felt so paranoid of the people around him that he could see a glint of that annoyance in every pupil, even if they may be pitch black. Forget that, now he was rambling inside his own head. He should really be asking for forgiveness right now.

“I’m very sorry, Kuro! To think you’ll have to put up with me for the next four days, it must be a hassle. If there’s anything I can do to speed up the learning process or just a request in the first place, I’m at your service. After all, you have assisted me so much in the short time I’ve been here...” He gave a worried smile, a small bead of sweat forming on his cheek, and scratched his nest of white hair with skittish movements. 

Kuro blinked. “I wouldn’t necessarily phrase it as ‘put up with you.’ While you might be right in other contexts, I did volunteer myself for this, and whatever mishaps occur during my time with you, as long as they’re not entirely your fault, fall upon my shoulders. As for things that might speed up the learning process. just keep it in mind that the king will not be easy to win over. Loafing around and doing the bare minimum will not bring you anything but the life of a regular servant. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

\---

“I don’t even think he believes in love!” Hajime shouted, and Nagito recoiled. That was a lot of information to absorb in only fifteen seconds. And that thought back to that moment just now, when he first was introduced properly to Kuro? What had ‘the king will not be easy to win over’ meant at the time? If Kuro already knew that the king would marry him in the end, no question about it, did he lie? Ah… perhaps it was a white lie to give him some semblance of hope. He was glad Hajime let him know, though. Fake hope was only the worst kind. With nothing to back it up, it simply fell over quickly into despair.

A public figure? So that’s what the king was aiming to get out of this. That… was definitely a blow to take. And to think a part of him had actually started to believe the king was lonely and truly wanted companionship, but alas, he was so very incorrect. If he were being honest he was somewhat troubled. Now that there was no chance of failure, it seemed as if all of his efforts the past three days had been fruitless. What was even his motivation now that he knew he was chained to this fate? Should he assume his luck could still cause him to get kicked out and keep trying? Should he just resume acting the way he did? Should he leave the palace? 

He became lost in his thoughts until he was finally able to reach a decision, ignoring Hajime in the process. 

“...I’m sorry. I wasn’t supposed to tell you that, and now you look like you’re not feeling well.” Hajime more mumbled than said. “But you’d have to find out the truth eventually. Um. What do you think you’re going to do now?” He was rather blunt. It was refreshing compared to the full of mysteries Kuro. 

“No, thank you, Hajime. If I hadn’t found out from you I would be an oblivious rabbit, hopping straight into a trap that I was unable to see due to a temptatious carrot. And, I’ve decided that even if that’s the case, I’m still going to move forward with this.” Nagito gave a bittersweet smile, and Hajime raised an eyebrow in surprise. 

Hajime paced around a short while before turning back to face Nagito. “You don’t seem like the type to chase after the king for money or status, and I just can’t really think of any other reason besides ehhh, no offense, stupidity to continue with his highness’s plan. Are you sure about this?” The way Hajime uttered ‘his highness’ almost felt sarcastic and disrespectful, but it wasn’t Nagito’s place to question that. He nodded, and Hajime tilted his head in curiosity. To be fair, Hajime was right, there wasn’t much of a reason to.

“You say the king doesn’t believe in love, correct? I’ve decided I’ll make it my goal to change that.”

The new version of Kuro’s eyes widened in mild shock. Nagito realized the implications of his words.

“Ah-- not as if I’m trying to hone in on you two’s territory or anything, in fact you both have a better chance at succeeding at this than I do, having known him so long. A large part of me is even rooting for your romantic endeavours.” Nagito quickly reassured Hajime, who rolled his eyes and was about to go into denial again when Nagito interrupted him. “And, not to mention those words were quite bold to be referring to his highness. Of course I realize that I most likely don’t have enough power alone to accomplish this, and that it’s really just a feverish dream, but I will at least try to make some progress and if I time my luck the right way, I think I’ll be able to reach a satisfying conclusion. Hey, Hajime? Are you okay?”

“I’d-- I’d really love to hear you out, Nagito, and try to convince you that while sweet, that goal is entirely unrealistic considering the king, but I fear that Kuro is coming back soon. Um, I’m always here in the secret tunnels, and occasionally wandering the palace in disguise if you want to see me.” Hajime clutched his forehead, and Nagito noticed that he was sweating a considerable amount. “Well- anyways, You’d most likely be executed, not from entering these tunnels, but from meeting me, but me and Kuro don’t share memories, so you’ll be fine if you go now.” Hajime gave a sharp inhale as if he was in great pain, and Nagito cringed. 

He was worried about Hajime, but execution wasn’t seeming like an ideal fate right now. So he took off running, back the way he came. Before going too far, he placed his foot firm on the ground, turned around, and yelled.

“See you next time, Hajime!”

Hajime glanced up from the pain, and ignoring the tears forming in his eyes from the headache he was having, he gave a weak smile. “Yeah, hopefully I see you again soon, Nagito.”

\---

Nagito skipped down the hall, although it was more of a run. Exiting the secret tunnels, he had glanced up at the clock quickly, and realizing that it was 4:54 P.M., he seized up at the predicament he was now in.

He had been scheduled to watch Ryota’s ‘animation’ project at 5. 

He hastily threw out his map, and lamented when he found that it would likely take 10 minutes to get there, even if he ran. He was sure that he couldn’t run all the way, but he’d run a part of it. But, in the end, it was nothing he could do but to accept the inevitable fate that he was to be late. Running throughout the halls, he caught the glances of some servants and staff members, but ignored them in favor of being the least late he could be. He took care to make sure that his shoes didn’t screech too loudly while they scraped across the tile, but some noise couldn’t be helped. 

As wind from the momentum blew through his hair, he felt oddly energized, almost as if he was a small white rabbit sprinting carelessly through a field, not worrying about time or anything else for that matter.

“Hey, you with the rabbit hair! Keep your damn feet moving slower, alright! Running in the halls ain’t shit we do here!” A slightly familiar voice clamored, and Nagito skidded to a halt. “Oh, it’s you, eh? Well, Mr. ‘I’m going to marry the king’, just because you’re cocky doesn’t mean you get to break. the damn. rules.” Fuyuhiko stated, the ever present irate tone in his voice more aggressive than usual. Another voice spoke up, this one much more deep and mature. 

“Fuyuhiko, how many times do I have to tell you that if it’s a minor violation like this, you don’t need to use such tactics on them. You there. You are breaking the rules, and ruining the floors in the process. Please refrain from sprinting without a care like a child from now on.” Fuyuhiko’s mentor… what was his name again? He thought back to the tour around the palace, and finally remembered what his name might have sounded like. Sayaka? Sakura? 

“Hey”

No, those were both generally feminine names, so it wasn’t likely. It definitely started with an S, though.

“You paying attention?”

Okay then, Sayuro? Sakayo? Sakako-- another feminine sounding name, so not that one. But it sounded so close? Sak… Saka… Sakak…  
“Did you even hear what I said?”

Sakak, what were possible suffixes for Sakak? He was sure Sakak was the start of the name, he just didn’t know the rest. Suffixes...suffixes… kuro. Kuro wasn’t it, but it was close. Why had he thought of Kuro first? That butler was really having an influence on him. Kuro… Sakakuro… he was so close, he knew it, he just..

“Hey! My boss is trying to talk to you, you little shit! Look him in the damn eye like a man, and answer!”

Sakakuro, no, Sakakure, no, Sakakuri, no, Sakakuru, no, Sakakura. Sakakura? Sakakura.

“Sakakura!” Nagito hit the bottom of his fist into his palm, the name finally hitting him. They just stared at him. What, had he missed something? Sakakura nodded, although confused. 

“Yes, my name is Sakakura. Now, answer me, so I can stop wasting my time on this. Did you hear what I said? Don’t go dozing off into space or I’ll write you up and send you to the medical room for examination.” Sakakura spit, stern and stressed. 

Nagito nodded furiously, though he had no clue what Sakakura was talking about. Whatever it was, he was sure that he would be perfectly willing. Nagito bowed, and started walking, although slightly fast, on his way to Ryota’s room.

\----

He burst through the door, and looked from side to side before seeing Ryota, sitting contentedly in a soft chair, knees up to his chest, and focusing all of attention on large pieces of parchment that had been scattered chaotically around the desk, floor, and even the walls. These pieces of paper ranged from scribblings to scrawlings, some with neat designs and others crossed out over and over and yet still taped up as if they were important. Around the room were also paintbrushes, pencils, charcoal, and kneaded erasers, all haphazardly strewn across the floor with the drawings. On the desk is where the art tools were most concentrated, heaping in a pile that took up a quarter of the space, the rest occupied by a paper and Ryota’s sleeved arms, furiously scratching at the drawing. He looked kind of empty, or even angry, as he formed a character onto the parchment. 

The most notable thing about the room, however, was a large machine in the corner, looming in the darkness caused by the closed curtains. It seemed so complex, many gears, levers, and pulleys going into it, and Nagito couldn’t fathom how it all came together. 

“Ryota.” No response. “Ryota?”

The nervous animator suddenly turned around in shock, eyes wide as if some hideous monster had just snuck up on him. Nagito didn’t blame him. He immediately relaxed upon studying Nagito’s features, and suddenly became pumped full of joy. 

“Nagito! I’m sorry, I thought you weren’t coming. Though I guess that was a large assumption considering it’s only 5:15, I mean you could’ve just been running late. I’m glad you came tardy though, because I’ve just finished up a thirty second short animation, and I’m finally gonna see if the science works out and everything!” Ryota seized up. “Although, I do hope it won’t fail…” Ryota moved to set up the machine against the wall.

So, coming late had all been his luck? His encounter with Hajime was lucky, too… not to mention that he got let go with no repercussions when it came to Fuyuhiko and Sakakura. Something bad was bound to happen soon. Perhaps he was overthinking it? No, he couldn’t be. What if he did something to ruin Ryota’s project? With the fortune he’d had, it was entirely possible. But, he was already late, so he really shouldn’t back out now. Perhaps backing out would be for the greater good, though. He couldn’t decide!

“Alright, implementing the animation process in three, two, one!”

Dear lord, he was going to mess this up, wasn’t he.

Nagito could hardly focus on his doubt when the machine had began whirring right before his eyes, and pages seemed to flip into order before it stopped. Ryota let out an excited squeal, highly anticipating what Nagito assumed was about to happen. Some gears could be heard creaking mechanically, and then it started. One after the other, the hundreds of pages of drawings started flipping after the other, or at least that’s how he thought it worked. He couldn’t really worry about that right now, though, as it seemed the drawings were moving on their own now.

A young boy drawn in black ink and dressed in yellow was frolicking around a field, and they seemed to be looking for something. They looked from side to side, focused and determined in their expressions in movement. He could practically hear the main character gasp in discovery when they came across a gentle field of three leaf clovers painted a bright green. They swayed with the wind as the animation proceeded, and the boy seemed to be at peace among them. However, he suddenly seemed to crouch down and run his hands through them apprehensively, like he was still searching for something else. Nagito wondered what it could be, perhaps a four leafed one. He was right. The boy kept widening his eyes and plucking a clover, only to droop when he realized it only had three green leaves. Similar movements continued, until finally, he counted four on one. The boy leaped up in the air, and although there was no sound playing with the animation, he felt like he could celebrate with delight with the boy, and yell that they’d found it. The four leafed clover. Nagito felt fleeting happiness engulf him, and then after the boy jumped for joy a couple times, the screen went blank, the machine stopped flipping pages, and the final drawing was labeled with the word ‘end.’

Nagito’s mouth was agape, and he was trying to process what he just saw. It was only Ryota’s squeamishly blissful behaviour that finally shook him out of his trance. That had been… amazing! It was like the drawing really leaped off the paper. It was just a simple story, but somehow the fluidness and exaggeration of the four leaf clover boy’s expressions had Nagito hooked the whole way, even sharing the same emotions as him. Wonderful. Ryota was truly wonderful, and truly talented. Nagito admired him a great deal after that. 

“I did it! I actually did it! Did you see that, Nagito? It moved! It actually moved!” Ryota seemed to pull Nagito into a tight hug on accident, and Nagito just stood there with his arms to the side, not knowing what to do. “Ah, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to do that, my baaa---w-whoa!” There was a crash after that, and Ryota rubbed his head gingerly before realizing that he’d fallen on top of his own creation. The machine creaked with the weight, and contrary to Nagito’s expectations, instead of acting distraught, Ryota started bellowing with awkward laughter. Nagito reached out a confused hand to lift him up, which he gladly accepted.

Nagito internally screamed. He’d completely forgotten about his luck. Now the whole machine was broken, and not to mention a machine that the Jabberwock scientists had worked so very hard on… all his fault. This damned luck of his…

“Haha!” Ryota was still laughing. “Of course I’d pull something clumsy like falling on the machine after it finally worked for me. Oh, you expected me to start crying didn’t you? Ah, well, I guess I’m just too high on the feeling right now. The reality is starting to settle in, though. Oh well, that just means I can’t play an animation for a while. Miu and the others are working on a faster version, and they said they’d try to get that out to me when they visit soon.”

Well, at least his luck hadn’t upset Ryota. That was a relief. 

\---  
Him and Ryota shared opinions for what seemed like years before parting, including a review about Ryota’s animation. Ryota was extremely eager to know Nagito’s opinion, and Nagito was happy to provide. Ryota waved him goodbye, but he said something odd right before Nagito closed the door.

“By the way, good luck with the king! I’d like to hear about it when you meet him, if you don’t mind!”

\---

Nagito aimlessly wandered about the castle for a short while before eventually returning to his room. He snuggled into the covers, and smiled before he went to bed. Today he had met Hajime of all things, which was a miracle on it’s own. He had even been able to spend time with someone as wonderfully talented as Ryota. For the first time in a while, he fell asleep with ease, and his dreams weren’t invaded by nightmarish events either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading to the end, I care about you and I hope you have an amazing day :)


	9. Crowded Tables and Rescheduling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito's guide on the fourth day is a familiar face. Said person delivers interesting news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, nice to see everyone again! This time around we have no little ‘Kuro’ and Nagito segment at the beginning, but you’ll see why. Get excited, because in a chapter or two we’ll be getting the meeting with his highness, and I think we all know who that is. Nagito sure doesn’t--

It was a rainy day that morning. Nagito had noticed it right away, as he slid open the sole window in his room to let the small watery droplets fall in and the curtains blow with the chilly wind. He stuck his head out the window, and admired the bleak scenery of the usually busied city. Rainy days were nice, and devoid of any useless activity. It was peaceful and quiet, a nice and quaint break from the constant chattering that you might always hear echoing from beyond the palace. After resting and allowing the water droplets to slide down his cheeks like tears for a coveted few minutes, he finally pulled the window to a close, and threw on a black shirt and red vest before setting off to meet his companion, who had just given a firm knock on his door.

Who could he be joining today? Meeting fresh faces every single morning was a blessing to Nagito, as he’d gotten to admire different hopes from afar each and every day. He’d been in a peachy mood the entire week because of it. However, to his grief, this would be the second to last one. It was day four after all, and then friday he’d be tested on his knowledge. The very thought made him shiver. If he could just get through that hell, though, heaven awaited on the other side. Saturday, the day he would meet the king. He was looking forward to that more than anything else in his life, and he could really only pray that his endless cycle didn’t ruin it. That was enough thinking for now, however. He’d left his guide waiting more than socially acceptable.

As soon as he opened the door, Nagito leaped back in shock. Standing in front of him was a tidy, apathetic butler. And it just so happened to be a tidy, apathetic butler with pools of long hair and red, vulturine eyes. 

Nagito immediately spoke up. “Haji-- ha. haha.” ‘nice cover up’ said a sarcastic voice in his head. “What are you doing here, Kuro!” He continued laughing uncomfortably, scratching his hair and suddenly becoming self conscious of how untamed it was. He kept repeating internally to himself that as Hajime had said earlier, Kuro and him didn’t share memories, but it wasn’t helping his anxiety much. Plus, after figuring out that Kuro/Hajime was in love with the king he wanted to marry, he couldn’t help but have a different outlook over the male. Not as competition, or below him, of course, but as an unstoppable force that stood like a towering wall in his way. A wall that he would have to gather an impossible amount of courage to climb. 

“Why do you act so nervous? I merely came here to make up for the time missed yesterday, and I do not remember any actions I have taken to incite such behavior. Do tell.” Kuro wanting to know his reasons for something? That was new. Usually the man seemed to have everything figured out, with that calculating demeanor of his. So then, it must be true, what Hajime said was right. They really didn’t share memories. It was a pleasant reassurance to know that he’d be able to visit Hajime in the tunnels again, as long as he could get the timing right. He offered the best explanation he could to Kuro, although it was rather half baked.

“Ah, sorry, I was just in shock from the fact that you really took time to get me all the way out here and even recover the time we lost yesterday. You really are kind, Kuro.” Nagito blinked thrice for effect, but Kuro didn’t seem to be entirely convinced about his attempts to inveigle him. In fact, he didn’t seem reassured at all, now that he thought about it.

“The Nagito I know would just pass my visit off as chance and blabber on about how ‘hopeful and miraculous it was that fate brought us together’, or something similar to the sort. You, just now, did not do that; therefore, you are making pitiful attempts to cover something up and I’m not having it.” Kuro loomed in closer, and Nagito gulped, too petrified to step back. He had to come up with a believable lie, without giving away the fact that he had met Hajime in the tunnels yesterday. How was he to do that? He didn’t know. His mind raced through several possibilities but he could only think of one that Kuro might believe. 

It was a bold plan, but he was a bold guy. He’d tell a few lies just so Kuro would believe his final one wholly. 

“I woke up to your knock this morning and had to get ready really fast, so I guess I felt a little disheveled.” 

“No, wrong. If that were the case your clothes would be wrinkled from the hurry and your hair would be much more fluffy-- I mean, unsightly.” 

“Haha. Ok, truth is I just snuck in through the window, I’ve actually been sneaking out to see--”

Kuro huffed. “No, now that’s just ridiculous. It’s raining outside, for god’s sake you’d be wet if that were the case. You’re starting to frustrate me now, so I suggest that you tell the truth before I expel you from this very palace.” Sparks slid across his icy tone of voice, and Nagito felt legitimately threatened. He took a breath, and reminded himself that that just meant his plan was going well. What he was about to say may be considered a social suicide, but he didn’t personally care. Kuro didn’t respect him in the least, so Nagito was certain that he wouldn’t really care much for it. He was different from the norm, right? Knowing Kuro, he’d probably proceed as usual knowing the false information he was about to provide. 

He allowed the nervousness and anxiousness to get to him as he said his words, though he was sure it must’ve added to the effect.

“I… have developed the smallest of crushes on you, I’m afraid.” He covered his face in embarrassment, and whether it was mock embarrassment or real, he couldn’t tell anymore. He hadn’t lied. Anyone into men would have developed a crush on Kuro, especially spending as much time with him as Nagito did. And develop a crush he had. Although, he’d kind of put it to the side in favor of meeting the king, who was sure to be an idol to him. That was much more appetizing. 

“Ah. As to be expected. You are prioritizing the king though, correct? It would be troublesome if you couldn’t even fulfill your purpose…” Kuro’s words began with a slight edge of surprise, but soon transitioned into that familiar cold tone. His eyes had narrowed slightly, and Kuro even seemed… impressed? Nagito couldn’t tell why.

“Of course, of course!” Nagito reassured. “No offense to you, Kuro, but from what I’ve heard about this great king, I’ll be so infatuated with him it’ll be hard to breathe. Looks hardly even matter anymore.” Kuro nodded acceptingly, and Nagito gave an awkward smile.

“By the way, I apologize for my absence yesterday. I had personal matters to attend to, and I was planning to drop off this book” --and suddenly a small pamphlet was shoved into Nagito’s hands-- “to you and abandon you right there, but my client was more impatient than usual and thus I couldn’t come at all.” Nagito took a glance at the cover. The thin book was titled “The Duties of a Manservant,” and he immediately realized it’s use. 

“Thank you, Kuro. I’ll begin-- em, studying this right now if you don’t mind. I’d hate to leave you conversationless.” 

“Please, walking in silence is much more entertaining than having your predictable words buzz around me like some fly. Do as you please.”

\---

“OOoooo, would you lookie here, the palace’s finest specimen has finally decided to show himself. How are you this fine morning, my dark escort?” Teruteru reeled, and Kuro’s face didn’t even so much as twitch. 

“Teruteru Hanamura, for the last time I’d like to inform you that though it may be that the other staff have gotten used to your behaviour, I will not tolerate it. Keep it up and you’ll be fired for sexual harassment.” Kuro stated plainly.

“My my, you really can’t just let things go, love. Though I suppose that is a part of your charm, sometimes I wish everyone would just be like our white maned stallion, isn’t that right, dearest Nagito?” Nagito froze awkwardly, how was he supposed to respond, especially in front of Kuro? Well, he supposed he’d just roll along with things as usual. 

The conversations in his and Teruteru’s relationship were odd, so to say. Perhaps he’d be extra aggressive today.

“Oh, Teruteru darling, you know I only put up with your harassment because your hot…” he snickered at the expression that had formed on Kuro’s face. “...meals are truly the greatest! So full of hope, your cooking is, truly fulfilling of a Kamukura staff member!” Kuro relaxed, and Nagito gave a cheesy smile. Teruteru rolled his eyes, and handed him and Kuro their dishes, which were nicely covered by their silver lids.

“As unwilling to flirt back as always, Nagito. I added some extra strawberries and whipped cream to your pancakes this morning, I know you have quite the fondness of them. Hopefully I’ll eventually get you to have a fondness for me, hm?” Teruteru wiggled his eyebrows, and Nagito let out a bout of laughter.

“Never gonna happen, Teruteru.”

As they walked to his usual table and sat down (no one else had arrived yet, as Kuro walked at an unreasonably fast pace), Kuro seemed confused. 

“You certainly get along with Teruteru Hanamura more than most.” Kuro observed. Nagito smiled.

“It’s a mutual exchange. Anyways, Kuro--”

“Kuro, sir! What are you doing here?” A familiar bitter voice rang out, and Nagito turned to recognize Nagisa, who was with Jataro. The former was struggling to refrain from a scowl, and the latter was cowering behind him. That was right, Kuro was the head butler, so it was only natural for him to be above Nagisa’s rank as an employee. And Nagisa had always harbored hatred towards those older than him, explaining the death glare. 

“I wasn’t able to attend to my pupil here yesterday so I came to escort him while going over the information he missed. Nagisa Shingetsu, you need not refrain from your usual behaviour around me. I don’t particularly care about yours, unlike Teruteru Hanamura.” Kuro mused, and Nagisa seemed to accept his words. He dropped the polite act and glared at Kuro before sitting down briskly in his chair and pulling Jataro to sit next to him.  
“Hey, dumbass, this is my seat! Get your feminine locks off of it before I kick you!” Hiyoko had just arrived, and was painfully unaware of just who she was speaking to. “Oh, weren’t you Kirumi’s boss or something? Well, it doesn't matter. My seat.” Her face twitched and Kuro turned to face her indifferent. Nagito silently saluted her for her bravery, yelling at Kuro, especially when knowing his status, took some guts. Kuro just ignored her, but she kept yelling while he silently ate his food, unresponsive and bored. She finally just walked over to another table, stole a chair, and overdramatically slammed it down in between him and Jataro. “Jeez Nagito, I almost feel bad for you. Your mentor’s more of an ass than you are.” Nagito was about to fight back, to tell her that insult was uncalled for, but he decided against it. 

Another new face appeared. Nagito had a sudden realization that a lot of people sat at this table. “The palace just stopped sending me guides because they said I was too ‘scary.’ Damn right I am.” Fuyuhiko glanced around the table confused. Then he sarcastically scowled and said “this table feels extra crowded today, is it just me or is it because of the fucking giant shadow sitting in the middle of all of us?” He motioned to the looming Kuro, who definitely stood out from the rest of him with his puddles of black hair and almost glowing red eyes.

“Fuyuhiko, Hiyoko, this is Kuro, he’s only here as my guide today so if you could just treat him as an honored guest--” but Nagito’s request was drowned out by the squeals of a familiar peppy voice, and colorful ribbons swang on the table, almost hitting his own food. 

“Heyyy! Kuro, what’s up? Or are you orange man today?” Kuro’s face darkened, and he glared at Ibuki in a way that screamed ‘shut up, you’re not supposed to be saying that.’ Nagito could only silently assume that Ibuki was talking about Hajime. It would make logical sense, considering she had been the one who drew the secret tunnels in the first place. He’d have to ask Hajime about their relationship next time Kuro disappeared. He couldn’t help but look forward to their next meeting.

“Mister Kuro, can we sit here? I was sitting with Ibuki but she insisted she come here after she saw you. I’m Hiyoko’s guide anyways, so--” The freckled girl was interrupted by Hiyoko, who was making a ‘shhh’ motion with her finger. The other girl glanced at Hiyoko apprehensively.

“Of course Mahiru can sit here! Honestly, it’s not like this jerk controls the seating chart. Here, Mahiru, sit next to me!” Hiyoko sounded oddly warmer and friendlier when talking to ‘Mahiru’ and the red haired girl smiled. Nagito assumed they must be close friends, or something like that. After all, Hiyoko was hardly this nice and cheery all the time. Mahiru nodded and sat down next to her, and Ibuki joined them. 

That was probably the fullest table in the dining hall at the time. There were the usual five of them, himself, Hiyoko, Nagisa, Jataro, and Fuyuhiko, and plus the addition of Kuro, Mahiru, and Ibuki. It wasn’t necessarily tightly squished, but it was crowded, and the spacing between the eight of them was definitely in close proximity. The body heat made everything feel warm and cozy, in contrast to the cold rain pitter pattering outside the tall windows. A lot of conversations started echoing in the small enclosure they had made, and Kuro simply ate his food and sat the rest of the time in silence, sipping whatever drink he had gotten every minute or so. It was surprising that Kuro was even less talkative than when it was just the two of them. He always seemed bored, so Nagito had always thought it was just because of him. Perhaps it was everyone?

Mahiru spoke up. “Jataro, Nagisa, I’m really sorry. I can’t blame you for not acting like a proper male when the people who raised you were degenerates of the worst kind. Towa kingdom really would be better if the beautiful queens Toko and Komaru would come back from the dead, not the scum that Haiji is! Honestly, I’m getting so worked up about this, it’s an issue that really pushes all my buttons--”

“Excuse me, honored palace workers, but I have news to bring to Nagisa.” Kirumi appeared from out of nowhere like a phantom, and everyone excluding Kuro was taken aback. Nagisa gathered his composure and nodded, a serious look in his eyes. He seemed to respect Kirumi a great deal. Well, Nagito assumed everyone did. She muttered a few words into his ear, and the blue haired kid’s eyes widened like saucers, first out of shock, and soon out of happiness, a small smile gracing his face. Everything in his world seemed to saturate immensely during those few moments, and when Kirumi walked away, Nagisa grabbed Jataro by the shoulders with the excitement of a kid in a candy store.

“Jataro, Jataro!” Nagisa blissfully shouted.

“Huh…? Nagisa, what is it? I was trying… tuh think about… strawberries…” Jataro’s eyes became watery as he gazed at the extra strawberries on Nagito’s plate. Nagito used his spare fork to give three of them to him. Jataro’s mouth watered at the sight of them, and he immediately started shoving the strawberries through that hold in his mask. 

“They’ve retrieved Kotoko! She’s coming tomorrow!” Nagito had never seen Nagisa so outwardly overjoyed. Kotoko must have been another one of their friends that Nagisa had to leave behind in Towa. How wonderful that Kirumi had been trying to bring all of them here. On second thought, that’s probably what Nagisa had agreed to do in order to work here. It was rather sad, though. They were only children, yet they were working hard here, especially Nagisa. It wasn’t uncommon these days for children to start working at that age, particularly those raised in Towa, but compared to his life of leisure that had been formed leeching off of his parents’ inheritance, it felt bittersweet. 

“Kotoko…? Oh, her. That’s… that’s… great…” He didn’t sound enthusiastic, but Jataro was smiling just as brightly as Nagisa. The two quietly murmured to each other about plans to meet her when she arrived, and then soon began feeling fond over old memories. Nagito was truly, dearly proud of them, and he could see everyone else at the table (again, excluding Kuro) lighten up a bit. 

\---

“So, Kuro, what are we doing today? And… pardon, but, what exactly are we doing here, as well?” Nagito looked around apprehensively. They had walked straight to the throne room, and Nagito was sure he wasn’t supposed to meet the king until Saturday. So why were they here? Kuro didn’t answer his question, instead opting to place a hand on the throne room door, then turn around and head in a different direction. Nagito followed willingly, but he still couldn’t piece together what was going on. They walked for what felt like hours of silence, and Nagito even began to feel a bit tired of it. He really was weak. 

However, they had just walked back to his room, and Kuro had walked right in. Pillows were peeking out from the open closet, and Nagito had to hold himself back from tidying up a bit. It would be rude to do that in favor of paying sole attention to Kuro, after all!

“I wanted to measure the exact distance between the throne room and your room, so that I might understand . It’s approximately 171.3 meters, which equates to 24 minutes if you walk three miles an hour and take a five minute break to do something. That is quite a long time. We will perhaps need to locate your room nearer to the throne room, or possibly use one of the side rooms within the throne room as your place of rest.” Kuro spouted as if it were simple information that a three year old might know. While stating his calculations he sounded like a robot, and it was beyond Nagito how he could’ve gotten all those numbers without writing anything down, or even formally measuring the distance. 

“Nagito. Pay attention. You are spacing out.” Nagito snapped up and nodded, letting Kuro continue. “Finish going over the handbook that I gave you, and then I must also inform you that your meeting with the king has been rescheduled for tomorrow. You’ve already passed the test on your own.” And without another word, Kuro walked away at an incredulous pace.

Nagito panicked.

Tomorrow? He was going to meet the king tomorrow? Was that good or bad? He wasn’t even sure if he could get this handbook down in the short amount of time he was given. And aside from that, the most confusing part was that he had already passed the test. What test? He couldn’t think of anything he could’ve possibly done to prove himself worthy, especially considering that he wasn’t worthy in the first place. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Nagito heard footsteps skidding down the hallway, rushing in the direction of his room. The already open door was pushed wide open, and it seemed Kuro had returned, looking panicked and frantic. The facial expression didn’t suit those eyes, which were… duller than usual?

Ah, Hajime. 

“Nagito, thank god you’re the one here. I heard your voice and it caused me to wake up, and then I was left looking exactly like Kuro in the middle of the castle hallways. Sorry if it’s a bother, but can I stash away with you until Kuro comes back?” Hajime was panting and his voice was hoarse, and at that last bit he let out a guilty smile. The taller of the two gave a light nod, and Hajime practically flopped onto the bed. 

“Say, Hajime, I’ve been meaning to ask, do you know someone named Ibuki Mioda? She has neon ribbons, hair horns, a tattered dress....” Hajime’s eyes seemed to sparkle at the mention of her.

“Oh, Ibuki? Yeah, I don’t know how she found the secret tunnels or saw through my disguise, but we’re… I guess you could call us friends. Whenever she sees me, she goes all the way out to the chef and brings me orange juice. She’s really the only one I ever talk to besides you and… oh, right. I can’t tell you who that person is. My bad.” Hajime gave a tired sigh, and Nagito continued flipping through the handbook, kicking his legs and feeling the tickle of Hajime’s long hair next to him. It was nice sitting here with Hajime outside of the damp tunnels and inside his candle lit room. Hajime was much more relaxed, honest, and… human, compared to Kuro, and it was refreshing to be with someone like this. He’d like to do it often. Speaking of often…

“Say, Hajime, how often do you… how do I put this, switch consciousness with Kuro's own? I mean, I assume that you do share the same body with him.” Nagito pondered.

“Ah, yeah, I’m pretty sure only once a week, since his mental state is a lot stronger than mine. But Iz-- Kuro has been extra restless recently, so here I am.” Hajime’s tone almost sounded sad and melancholic, and Nagito could understand why. That practically meant that Hajime could only live a seventh of a life, sacrificing the rest to Kuro. It must be painful. Although, a toxic part of him didn’t want to change that; in the end, Kuro had more talent and use than Hajime ever would. It was mean to think that, but in Nagito’s mind it was just the truth. He would miss Hajime after he disappeared every week though.

They idled around for a couple more hours, exchanging slight laughter and small talk, until Hajime started visibly feeling Kuro pounding in his head. He set off running down the halls and rushing to get to the secret tunnels, and it was all Nagito could do to hope that he made it down in time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't quote me on this, but Nagito seems like the type of guy who would admit a crush on someone to hide something. And I am fully aware that my 'Kuro' writing kinda suffered this chapter, it's whatever. Thanks for reading, I hope you have a fantastic day :)


	10. Sunflowers and Simple Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito meets the king.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. there will be no Nagito and Kuro/Izuru segment at the beginning of a chapter until we get things sorted out after the meeting with the king. I hope you enjoy this chapter, thanks for stopping by!

Nagito woke up at what, according to a slightly off clock in the right wall of his room, was around 6:00 A.M., and no matter how hard he tried to go back to sleep, it seemed that the cold air made his thoughts start running and running until they exploded within his own mind. It’s like the small anxiety he held at meeting the king started swelling within him until it grew past the confines of his small frame and started fluttering in his stomach like butterflies in an attempt to escape. He sat up from his bed, glanced around at the darkened green walls and slowly let his eyes adjust to the dark. What should he do now? There was really no way in hell he was falling back asleep with this feeling of disquiet running rampant through his veins. 

After lighting a match and subsequently a candle, he hazily threw open the closet door, glancing around his clothes to wonder what he should wear to the throne room today. He at least had to be well dressed, after all, he’d just now remembered from way back when how the king was very meticulous about appearances and the cleanliness of everything. He didn’t like it if you don’t look at least decently presentable, or at least that’s what Kuro had told him. Actually, that had been the impression he’d gotten from Kuro, too. The butler was really similar to the king, and they’d probably grown up together, judging from the information he’d heard so far. Nevermind that. Nagito pulled out the purest white blouse he could manage. It had slightly puffed out sleeves that were connected together at the end with a pearl bead. That would do. Then he slipped on his usual black pants and belt, not bothering those pieces of clothing. However, the real issue was what to wear above the shirt.

After all, he couldn’t just walk into the throne room with a casual blouse on, no, that just wouldn’t do. Nagito gave a bright smile, having just gotten a fantastic idea. Perhaps he should just leave it to his luck? Deciding that to be the best course of action, he laid out a couple choices, closed his eyes, and gently placed his hand on one. 

It was a yellow vest that had silver embroidery over the shoulders, and black strings tied in bows all the way until the waist. And after he put it on, it’s airy aura reminded him of something he’d seen recently. He glanced around until his eyes narrowed in on a vase of sunflowers, cut diagonally at the stem and glinting in the dim band of sun peaking over the village rooftops. He didn’t remember sunflowers being there yesterday, rather one of the maids or perhaps Kirumi had left them there. How kind of them. He plucked one out of the vase and settled it into his breast pocket, brushing a loose strand of hair aside in the process.

Should he study the handbook a little more? He was sure that he had all precautions and rules down, but how could that really be for certain? A little more studying couldn’t possibly hurt, no matter how much he didn’t feel like doing so. He gently flipped through the pages a couple more times, and he could physically feel the sweat forming on his forehead as his thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the king, it was always the king. 

He felt like all this effort would be wasted. The king probably wouldn’t like him, least of all enjoy the sight of him in the first place. He was altogether quite worthless aside from working as hard as he could. And hard work couldn’t get you everywhere, only talent. Kuro only seemed to tolerate him because he was assigned to stick by his side, and would probably ignore him as soon as the king rejected him. After all, both Kuro and Hajime were in love with the king, right? It would only make sense that Kuro would immediately jump at the chance to spend time with the king as soon as he wasn’t an obstacle anymore. Was it possible that he was overthinking this? No, he was really just being realistic in the end.

Nagito shook himself out of his daze before he spiraled, and kept distressfully flipping through the pages of the handbook, until it became a mechanical pattern and he couldn’t even remember why he was still doing it anymore.

A firm knock came at the door. Ah, was it time for his guide to get him already? He was getting fairly used to the palace, and with the addition of the nervous feeling bubbling in the pit of his stomach, he had forgotten someone was coming altogether. Nagito did his best to pull himself together, and opened the door to a thankfully familiar face.

“Hello, sir. I heard you were scheduled to meet his highness early, so I requested that I come see you today. I assume that you must be nervous, yes? Do pardon me if I’m wrong.” his guide, better known as Kirumi, tilted her head, and Nagito couldn’t help but smile, relieved. If there’s anyone who could calm his nerves, it was Kirumi, with her soothing voice and motherly attitude. He really did respect her a great deal.

“Kirumi, no need to call me sir, I do consider you a friend, after all. No need to reciprocate that, though! Ahaha! And… to answer your question… yes.” He cringed, beads of sweat more starkly visible than usual. “Very.”

“Of course I reciprocate, sir, em, Nagito.” Kirumi stated, slightly awkward, but sympathy delicately laced in her voice. “However.” She placed a hand on his shoulder as they began walking towards the dining hall. “Please do trust me that there is no need to worry. After all, the very fact in itself that you passed the test unknowingly must have already caught the king’s interest. And besides, you look very nice.” Kirumi gave a polite smile, but then proceeded to stop mid hallway and turn around to face him.

Her polite facade seemed to fade for a moment, as she adjusted his vest and shirt similar to how a mother would. She smoothed out wrinkles, pulled at the sleeves to straighten them, and firmly fixed his collar. 

“And two more things…” suddenly, Kirumi pulled her hands up to his white hair and started ruffling the tereses he had worked so hard to smooth down, until it was haphazard and wild, like tattered sheep’s wool. “I’ve been to enough petting zoos with the king to know that he’d appreciate your hair more messy like this. And, well, I suppose this part is just my opinion, but, if you’ll just allow me to…”

Kirumi gently took the sunflower from his pocket and tucked it into Nagito’s hair, and after she pulled away, Nagito gave a delicately placed pat to secure it into place. It was actually nice to be worried over, especially in a motherly way from the reliable maid. With her soothing actions and voice, his whole world just seemed to slow down, and the worries slipped out of his mind, if only for a fleeting moment. And a smile couldn’t help but creep onto his face. 

“Thank you, Kirumi.” 

They had arrived at the dining hall by now, and went through the usual routine of getting their meals and conversing with Teruteru before sitting down at Nagito’s usual table. Hiyoko was already sitting there with Mahiru, and Fuyuhiko seemed to be off talking to Sakakura at the entrance. Suddenly, three people walked through the entrance of the dining hall, cheery voices bellowing throughout the room, most of them high pitched. Nagito turned around to see Jataro, Nagisa, and a single unfamiliar face. It was a girl with long pink pigtails and a long and frilly pink dress. 

“Awww, your two’s new clothing is supes adorbs! Nagisa, you with your little-- mwah!-- black cap, and you Jataro with your-- mwah!-- your, uh, steampunk? Aesthetic? Whatever, you’re both adorable, now come give me another hug!” This new child had just kissed both Nagisa and Jataro on their cheeks-- in Jataro’s case, his mask-- earning faces of embarrassment from the both of them. She pulled them both into her arms and squeezed them tight, and Nagisa tried to wriggle out of it while Jataro just went limp. She seemed overjoyed to be there with them, and Nagito smiled remembering how excitedly Nagisa and Jataro had talked about her yesterday. She must be another one of their group from Towa Kingdom.

“Kotoko, that’s the seventh time you’ve given us a hug since you got here. Honestly, it’s embarrassing.” Nagisa scowled, and ‘Kotoko’ just returned it with a smile.

“Sorry Nagisa, I just really… really missed you guys you know!” Kotoko said sweetly, and the three of them sat down at Nagito and Kirumi’s table.

“Hello there, Kirumi and other demons! I am Kotoko Utsugi, and I’ll be joining you with these twerps from now on!” Her words were perfectly bright and easy-going, but the twitching of her eyebrow and poisonous smile gave away the notion that she wasn’t so happy to be around them. Another child infected from the trauma at Towa, how sad. 

Nagisa shrugged. “No worries, Kotoko. At least Kirumi’s here and her being the one who got you here, you as well as me and Jataro know that she’s fully respectable.” Kirumi smiled. 

“And… I guess it’s just me… but,, Nagito is okay too, probably. It’s just me, isn’t it…” Jataro mumbled nervously. “That’s good! Then,, you can, all hate me… for my opinion…” 

“Who’s Nagito? Any demon Jataro likes is probably a demon that I like! Probably! You can have bad tastes sometimes, you know!” Kotoko squealed, and Nagito tensed up. Could it be that Jataro really tolerated him? Sure, he’d helped Jataro find his way just once, but that was merely out of simple politeness. There was no way. And before Nagito knew it, Nagisa and Jataro were pointing at him, and Kotoko was looking over him judgingly. 

“Hmph. I guess you’ve got a nice thing going with your clothing choices, especially with that sunflower in your hair. Scratch that, the sunflower is sooooo cute! It really makes your hair pop!” Nagito didn’t know how in the world to respond to the compliment, and Kotoko was twirling her pigtails in bliss, but suddenly widened her eyes as if a realization hit her. Her hands scrunched up, and she sent Nagito a glare. “Not as if I like you yet.” Malice laced her voice as she continued. “I only make exceptions for cute girls, and definitely not men.” Her face darkened over like a storm cloud, and the entire act of being nice and outgoing just dropped as she became an entirely new person.

“Ah, that’s okay! I wouldn’t expect anyone to like someone like me right away, I’m surprised Nagisa and Jataro even tolerate me.” Nagito scratched his head, smitten with embarrassment. The stress might still be eating at him, but everyone in the dining hall was so hopeful he couldn’t help but relax. Hiyoko didn’t seem so excited though. Nagito could sense irritation from her over the table. What could she possibly be mad about? Finally, face darkened over, she stood up in her seat, and Mahiru sent her a glance that seemed to be a warning. 

“You’ve all been talking about Nagito and Kirumi, but what about me! And especially Mahiru! You should show us some more respect, you little brats--” Hiyoko was suddenly pushed down back into her chair by Mahiru, and she gave a childish huff and remained silent after that. 

“Jeez, calm down Hiyoko. They’re just children.”

The three ‘children’ burst out into laughter, followed by Mahiru, then Hiyoko, and even a couple polite giggles from Kirumi. Nagito just couldn’t bring himself to join in as he fidgeted with the strings tying his vest together. The thought that he’d be meeting the king after this just refused to leave him. 

\---

“Here we are, Nagito. Nagito? Can you hear me? Please calm down, it’s going to be alright.” Kirumi placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, but it didn’t stop the male from trembling immensely. He thought he’d gotten over the jittery phase of it, but it seemed he had thought wrong. He was hugging himself as he stood in front of the throne room, the sick feeling in his stomach suddenly leaching from his strength and causing his muscles to feel weak. His mind was just repeating over and over by now that this wasn’t going to go well, that his luck would interfere by now.

“Sorry, Kirumi, I don’t think I can do this… meeting the king is such a big responsibility--”

“Nagito.” Kirumi turned to face him with a determined look in her eye. “I know you, and I know that the king might not approve of you right away, but trust me when I say he does that with everyone. Of all things, if by what he’s heard of you he found you too boring, you wouldn’t be here. And, I can’t quite reveal why, but the king has talked about you quite a bit. So please, Nagito, take deep breaths and focus on just meeting him, just a simple meeting. Okay?” She had started massaging his shoulders, and Nagito was able to eventually stop the trembles. It was just… a simple meeting. 

“Okay.” Nagito said, and Kirumi nodded and placed a knock on the door, which could only be opened from the inside. 

“Kirumi, is that you?” Rang a voice, and Nagito immediately recognized it as Kuro. What a relief. As long as Kuro would be there watching, he was sure he’d be able to pull himself together somewhat. He was sure that the trusty butler wouldn’t mind if he avoided the gaze of the king by shooting a glance his way. Kirumi had just given affirmation to Kuro, who unlocked the door. Nagito was about to take a step forward, when suddenly Kirumi placed a hand in front of him to wait. Perhaps they needed a bit of time to prepare? He assumed they would already be ready for his arrival, but then again it was scheduled ahead of time. 

“Kirumi, you may come in.” Kuro’s voice echoed again, but it seemed more distant now, as if it were on the other end of the room. Was he next to the throne now? Kirumi suddenly spoke up. “Nagito, do you remember the bow you are supposed to perform?” Although he’d just remembered them, he was sure he’d had them memorized, so Nagito nodded, determined to finally let these nervous butterflies escape his body. 

And so the door opened.

Nagito began walking in to reach the place he was supposed to bow, and started to look the man on the throne up and down. He reminded him of Kuro, with long, luscious black locks and lustrous shoes. He had piercing red eyes that--

It was Kuro.

He might just be dreaming, but as he continued further down the aisle, Kuro was sitting there on that tall red throne, wearing his usual butler uniform with a velvety red cape to compliment it. Not to mention a half black and white crown rested atop his head, shining in the bright sunlight that was streaming generously in from the windows. Kuro-- the king? Was resting his cheek on a single set of knuckles, and was placed in that familiar position, one leg crossed over the other, not quite condescending but nonetheless above the rest. His red eyes seemed to burn holes into Nagito’s face as he kneeled down on the much duller red carpet, and bowed his head to this-- this savior.

And all Nagito could think, all Nagito could even process in that moment, all that Nagito even knew anymore, was that Kuro was, that in that very moment Kuro was 

“Beautiful” he said loud enough to hear.

So many shameful thoughts flitted in and out through his mind at the sight. Nothing else even mattered at the moment as he basked in the king’s glory, it even seemed as if heavenly light had descended from the ceiling and shone on every (beautiful) feature of the king’s (beautiful) face, lighting up every (beautiful) strand of hair in some iridescent way that was only befitting of some great (beautiful) deity. Nagito just wanted to stare into those (beautiful) ruby eyes forever and ever, and never leave this (beautiful) specimen of a man’s side. To fondle each one of those (beautiful) strands of hair, to kiss each (beautiful) area on his (beautiful) face and whisper (beautiful) things in his (beautiful) ear with his (ugly) voice. 

“You may rise.” Kuro, was he even allowed to think of him as Kuro anymore? Kuro was probably another identity or alias he had used to teach Nagito, so he should probably just call him his highness instead. Nagito was barely able to control his rampant thoughts about his highness, and he could even feel tears forming in his eyes at what luck he must have for Kuro to be the king himself. And to think he had believed that Kuro was in love with the king, how utterly idiotic of him. He rose, and continued to stare Kuro in the eyes, shame far from his mind at the time.

“You look like a love struck puppy. Pull yourself together, you know me and I know you. That was the purpose of the person known as Kuro.” His highness was tapping his foot impatiently on the foot of the throne, and Nagito could almost chuckle. This had gone way better than he ever imagined it could turn out. To think that Kuro was the king all along… he should’ve realized it so much sooner. It was no wonder Hajime had freaked out at him introducing himself. 

“It’s so very wonderful to know your identity, your highness. To think that--”

“Nagito, I don’t want to hear your incoherent rambling right now. Anyways, now that all the formalities are past us, I’ve made arrangements for your room to be the one right next to mine, and you are now officially my manservant. You will show up when I ring the bell in my room every morning, and then follow me around or do tasks that I request of you. You are only allowed Wednesdays and Saturdays off, mass celebrated holidays included as well. The courting part will have to come on your own, as long as you keep in mind all the things we went over. So, in short, unless you attempt to catch my interest, you will remain my servant until I inevitably become bored of you and rid myself of your presence.” His highness seemed to let all that information spill from his mouth like a waterfall, and Nagito paid attention to each and every syllable that left his mouth. 

“It will of course be an honor just to serve someone like you in the first place, your highness.” He was tempted to bow again, to continue silently gaze into his highness’s eyes with no abandon, and think about the divine beauty that stood in front of him, but he decided against it. 

His stay at the palace would be truly fascinating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you know,  
> b e a u t i f u l  
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Have a great day and see ya next time!


	11. Names and Falling Wardrobes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito's luck cycle is at it again. He thinks about the newfound king a lot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the support I've been getting, you are all little precious things.

“One last thing, Nagito.” Kuro spoke. He had such a lovely voice. Nagito had always thought that, but he’d been repressing it knowing that the one he should truly be aiming for was the king. Now that Kuro was the same person, everything was different. Everything was perfect.

“Yes, your highness?” Nagito smiled. He’d enjoy this luck while it lasted. 

“Don’t call me ‘your highness’. It’s irritating. And if anyone asks, the king didn’t care for you at all, and you ended up agreeing to a job with ‘Kuro.’ We can’t have the entire palace knowing I’m the king.” Kuro stated, and Nagito just widened his smile to the point of no return. That made sense, if he was going to be spending a lot of time with the king, then in public he would be best known as the head butler.

“Any questions?” Kuro said with his ever bored tone.

“Two. I want to call you by your real name, and not Kuro. So if you’ll allow me to know that. And a second question, I’ve been wondering how I passed the test. I’m not worthy in the first place, so I just can’t comprehend what the test was or what I’ve done right.” 

“No, find out my real name yourself, if you can. I doubt it.”

“I’m afraid that I’ll have to continue calling you your highness then, as it only feels right for someone as astounding as you.” Nagito blabbered on, and Kuro looked as if he was about to roll his eyes. “As for my second question....”

I have developed the smallest of crushes on you, I’m afraid.” 

Nagito was confused. Kuro had just said that in an entirely robotic tone, as if he were reading from a novel, or quoting a piece of poetry. There was just no way that was true, unless ‘Kuro’ had gone crazy or been replaced. Speaking of his highness, Nagito couldn’t help but lament from the fact that he wasn’t to be told his highness’s real name. He didn’t know how he could possibly find out, and from this bout of luck, there was no way he could rely on his cycle to help him. 

“That’s what you said on Thursday morning to me. So, you passed the test.” Ah, so he was quoting Nagito’s own words, not speaking from the heart. That made much more sense. He gave a sigh of relief. He wished he could take back said sigh of relief when he realized that developing a crush on ‘Kuro’ was the test. That was it? That was the entire challenge of it all? Wouldn’t that prove his disloyalty though? At the same time, it would also show that he was able to fall in love with his highness even before knowing he was the king. Alas, it was a double sided coin.

“I see… well, I don’t know if I’ll be able to, but I’ll certainly do my best to learn your name, your highness. If that’s all, then allow me to rid you of my presence.” Nagito said gently. No matter how dearly he wished never to leave the king’s side, he was sure that his highness must be bored of him by now. However, the king seemed uncertain what to say next, subconsciously tapping his fingers on the side of the throne as if he was internally debating whether or not he should let Nagito go. That was odd. His attitude this entire time was borderline annoyed, or more like he wanted to get this over with. It was quite hypocritical to be appearing that he might even want in some corner of his mind for Nagito to stay. Nagito decided that his delirious fantasy was mingling in as a hallucination with reality, and that he must be imagining it. 

“Very well, but make sure that you’re properly moved to your new room by the end of today. Kirumi will show you where that is. I will be seeing you tomorrow, and in the meantime, I am going to be working in my room. Don’t bother me.”

Nagito nodded, and the nobleman walked off. After the distant closing of a door was heard, Kirumi congratulated him and began showing him to his new room. 

“Before I leave, Nagito, mind that you can’t just enter and exit the throne room through the front door. There’s another exit at the end of the hallway your room is at. It leads to a fake guest room in the palace, and from there you and Kuro can leave together every morning. Once again, congratulations on meeting the king, I’m certain things will only go well from here.” Kirumi gave a polite smile, her gloves resting on her skirt. She was about to walk away before Nagito raised his voice, curious.

“It might be out of place for me to ask, but do you know how I might find out his name? I am determined to figure it out.”

“No, I’m afraid he has never told me, and I don’t think he’s told anyone else either. Even if he did, I wouldn’t be able to tell you, apologies.” Kirumi gently let him down, although that answer was expected. He was sure that there might be a chance Ibuki could know, as strange as she was. Besides, when Hajime appeared in the tunnels next week, he’d ask him. Hajime could always be honest with him, and now that Nagito was aware of the king’s true identity, he hoped that the other personality would tolerate him enough to let him know. It would, however, be rather embarrassing to apologize for the whole ‘loving the king’ mix up…

Either way, he had to start packing up the stuff from his old room and moving it all over here. That wouldn’t be too hard, considering he’d only brought two suitcases that were mostly just clothes and a couple useless trinkets from his manor. Speaking of his manor, he wondered how it was doing. He’d continued transferring payment to his maids and servants, but he was sure they found no need to clean an abandoned residence. He also wondered how that one maid was doing, the one was very sweet and kind to him. She was the only one who bothered to talk to him, mostly because she was awfully forgetful though. He’d have to pay her a visit sometime. Maybe he’d even leave the mansion to her if he ended up with a future here in Kamukura kingdom. 

\---

“Ow--!” Nagito hissed under his breath. His finger had just slammed in the door as he accidentally (somehow) pulled the door close on it. He shook it off and stuck the finger in his mouth to numb the pain as he brought the last bit of miraculously clean clothes onto the bed. 

And to think only four of them were dirty when he had gone to his room.

On each and every trip to his room, something ridiculous had happened, and if not for his fortunate meeting with the king, Nagito could’ve sworn that with how he was feeling right now, he’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed. First, he’d tripped over nothing and all the clothes came crashing down into the ground. Not only that, but as he was trying to get up, several people had walked over the articles of clothing like they didn’t notice the clothing or him struggling on the floor. Then, in the next trip, a piece of clothing had fallen on a pile of spilled food on the floor that Celestia was on her way to clean up, and when he bent down to pick it up, the rest, by some miracle (or supernatural event) of gravity, fell straight on top of it. 

And if that wasn’t enough, the trip right before this one was dreadfully eventful. A crowd of citizens from the city outside were gathered near dining hall three for some kind of monthly palace celebration, and so while he fumbled through there, five of his shirts had gone missing! Five! And he’d also gotten lost within the crowd of noisy people, and it took him roughly ten minutes to remember where he was with the map because he had somehow ended up in one of the most obscure parts of the palace. After that, he was pushed and made fun of some stupid person who was apparently jealous that he got picked to court the king. Eventually he kept agreeing with their insults enough that they looked at him incredulously and left him alone. 

This trip had gone perfectly until he jammed his finger, and he still couldn’t figure out why all of this was happening. Or, he was in too bad of a mood to think about why all of this was happening.

He took a couple deep breaths, and moved to open the closet and start hanging the five pieces of clothing that remained clean. Well, he could make a stop to the laundry room to wash the rest of them later today, so he supposed it wasn’t that bad, but still. So he started placing each shirt and pants in there until he finally got to the last one. However, the last one seemed to just be more pleasing next to the black vest, so he moved to pull it out when he realized the hanger was placed so that no matter how much he pulled in the direction, it wouldn’t come out. 

Realizing that this was all repercussions of his luck cycle couldn’t have come at a better time. Not at all.

He was about to stop pulling when he suddenly heard a creak and a small rumble, and all of a sudden the entire wardrobe was tilting, falling over at an impossible speed for such a light tug, and heading straight toward him.

He made the best attempt he could to dodge it. (Note: Attempt)

All he knew next was that he let out a strangled groan of discomfort as his arm felt like it was stabbed with a thousand needles at once. The pain was unbearable. He squeezed his eyes shut and he tried to pull his arm out from under the closet? Was that what it was? But it was to no avail, causing another spike of pain that made him writhe. 

The door opened, and Nagito could’ve thanked the gods that someone had come at the right time.

“Nagito, what the hell is all this noise for-- oh. How-- nevermind.” Nagito’s ears seemed to register the voice that he heard beyond his eyes that were squeezed tight, and all he knew was that some part of his brain seemed to shout ‘beautiful.’ The person was (magically? It all happened quite fast) at his side and lifting the wardrobe up, setting his arm free from that hellish prison. He could feel some parts of his body going numb as the person scooped him up in their arms and started walking (to heaven? From what he could see they looked like a divine angel) somewhere. He decided to give an empty smile and trust in his gentle captor’s hold and soon he couldn’t understand what was going on.

\---

“U-um! I am… happy! To inform y-y-you that h-his arm will be ffffine as soon as the c-cast is off! Sir!” Nagito woke up to a squeamish high pitched voice and hazily acknowledged the presence of two people next to his… his bed? “A-and it’ll be healed in… oh god… uhm… a m-m-month?” He glanced to his arm, and sure enough, there was a cast there.

“Quiet. He’s awake.” muttered a distinct voice, one he only knew belonged to a head butler, no, king. His highness was staring down at him and to be such an intense focus of a gaze made Nagito feel slightly flustered. “Nagito, do you remember what happened?”

“Um...yes! Of course!” the king gave a skeptical look. “No, actually, why am I here? And why does my arm feel so stiff?” He tried to sit up, and managed to get halfway there. After further observation, he eventually realized that he was lying in a medical bed. Was he in the medical center then? All of this must’ve been some bout of bad luck.

“You were moving things in your new room and the wardrobe… somehow… fell onto your arm. I heard a loud crashing noise and I opened the door to find you in immense pain. It’s only been about two hours since then.” His highness Kuro stated plainly, as if it was fiction, and not Nagito’s own arm they were talking about. It suddenly came rushing back to him, the pain he felt at the impact of the closet door colliding with his arm. The king had found him afterwards, and probably taken him here, where he was treated by this skittish woman in front of him. 

She was dressed in a traditional nurse’s uniform, complete with a white cloth draping over her head and what looked like it used to be a long, pink dress. Used to. It was either ripped or cut short, what looked like forcefully. Her black bangs were tinted with a hint of purple, and they peeked out from the white cloth above her head. They were choppily cut though, as if it had just been randomly sliced off without a care. Although, currently the girl was looking with her head to the ground, allowing him to continue with their conversation.

“Well, that’s to be expected, ahahaha!” Nagito started chuckling for no tangible reason, and the entire atmosphere of the room seemed to tense up, horrified. It took a minute of silence to realize that he, being himself, had made everything rather awkward, and the king and the nurse deserved an explanation. Well, that was to be expected as well. “With such fortunate coincidence that ‘Kuro’ was really the king, the one I want to marry, it is only natural that bone breaking should follow afterward. This isn’t even the worst of it! I mean, at the very least no one else was affected…” Nagito spilled out, then continued. “With good luck, comes bad luck, and so on and so forth. That’s how it is for me, at least.” A never ending cycle of both heaven and hell.

“Mm.” his highness responded, and then said his closing statement. “The break wasn’t bad, so you will be able to leave in two days. Return to your room as soon as Mikan Tsumiki gives you the clear, and as long as you are physically able to, proceed with things as planned.” He had walked to the door during his words, and with the last syllable he left, leaving Nagito with the nurse named Mikan Tsumiki. 

“Oh, thank goodness he’s gone, I always thought he was so… scary. And rude!” Mikan yelled, and then her eyes suddenly widened and she hastily covered her mouth and fear, shaking from head to toe. “I-I-I’m s-so sorry, d-d-did I say th-that out lou--! Loud! It’s a b-bad habit of mine ever since Mahiru started telling me t-to speak up! Forgive me…!” Her eyes were shut lid tight and already had the beginnings of tears streaming out of them. And, Nagito didn’t know what it was, but she struck him as someone annoying to deal with. However, being a part of the Kamukura palace staff, she must be full of unimaginable characteristics and talent. What a wonderful thing. When Mikan let out an uncomfortable squeak, Nagito realized that he'd been staring at her, and quickly tore his gaze from her face. Mikan tried to apologize, but the words died at the tip of her tongue. They agreed on proceeding with silence after that, and Nagito waited patiently as Mikan gently checked if the cast was secure. She eventually returned with a meal from what he assumed was the dining hall. 

"If th-that's all, I h-have to d-d-deliver some medicine to others, so--"

"Hello hello, medicinal maiden! I have brought you a patient with a very naughty papercut!" Rang a voice, and Nagito couldn't quite tell who it belonged to. It had a slight accent to it, probably foreign, and the footsteps coming in the room were buoyant and cheerful. 

"U-um! The bandage wrap is over there in that drawer, miss... um... I'm so s-sorry! I can't re-remember your name...!" Mikan started panicking, but was calmed down by dark arms cloaked in yellow wrapping around her waist. Nagito got a close enough look to recognize the one hugging Mikan as Angie Yonaga, the talented artist he had met back when he helped Jataro find his way to the art studio. She looked younger than the usual staff (excluding the children from Towa), a lot more bright and cheerful than the rest of the palace. Or at least this medical room that smelled of medicine and alcohol. 

"Thank you! I am the great Angie, and there is no need to worry, Atua says he will forgive you! Now, Jataro, come over here, little one." She glanced to the corner, and Nagito finally noticed that Jataro had been standing there the whole time, fiddling with his sleeves. “Jataro, honey, don’t get blood on the sleeves, it will get them all dirty.” Angie continued, and she approached the bandage wrap drawer and threw it open, grabbing blindly for the roll of bandages. Jataro walked forward, pushed back his sleeve, and held out his palm, which seemed the victim of a massive bleeding papercut. As she slowly wrapped the bandage round and round Jataro’s palm, Nagito noticed Jataro staring at him, and he gave a weak smile. 

“Hello there.”

“Nagito.... how did you,, break your arm… like that?” Jataro mumbled, tone as slow as ever. Nagito shrugged. 

“Just a case of bad luck, don’t worry your hopeful little head over something like that.” Nagito said, and Jataro shrugged in return. Angie, who had been listening in on their conversation, looked at Nagito, sparkles manifesting in her eyes again. He got the feeling that some torch had lit in her brain and given her a chaotic idea.   
“No worries, friend of Jataro! If you pray to Atua, then surely your arm will heal in no time at all!” Angie started patting his cast all over, and Nagito felt admittedly uncomfortable. Angie was very obsessed with that god of hers. Maybe she was trying to start a religion? No matter how talented this one may be, he’d always found her a little bit… pushy. Like she was constantly invading your own space without a clue in the world how she was making you feel. He almost felt bad for Jataro, but then again, it was certainly for the best that he was mentored by someone so skilled in the field of the arts, right? 

It seemed the timid nurse had up and left without saying a word, or perhaps she had and they had just not heard it. Angie soon followed, and Nagito didn’t know what else to do besides stare at the palace ceiling and think. Would Kuro visit him in the next two days, or would he be forgotten about and alone? He’d really like to have time to speak to the butler, as all his time after finding out that ‘Kuro’ was the king had been rushed full of activity, busier than he liked it. He let out a sigh as he realized how obsessed he was about the king, thinking about him and wanting to be by his side at all times. Truly, whether he succeeded in winning him over or not, that man would always be a hyperfixation to him. He tried to come up with a new topic to wear his mind with. Eventually he drifted to the concept of his highness’s real name. Related to the previous topic, but new nonetheless.

He would probably ask Ibuki once he was released from here, but there was a good chance that she only knew Hajime’s name, not the king’s real one. She probably didn’t even know he was the king in the first place, just like everyone else. Of course Hajime was an option, because Nagito was almost certain that at the very least the brasher side of the king must know ‘Kuro’s’ real name. However, that was problematic, seeing as even after he was released from the hospital bed, he would have to wait another three to five days in order to finally see Hajime again, who only took the king’s place in the body once a week. And he wanted to know the king’s name now, more than anything. 

And then there was the subject of winning his highness over in the first place, along with serving him. While he of course knew well that the king was already planning to marry him no matter what as Hajime had said, he wanted so dearly to be more than just a tool and public figure to the king. While thoughts like that were incredibly selfish, that was his true goal in the end, and even though surely he was destined to fail, he’d keep chasing after it like the useless idiot he was. What could he even do to convince the king to acknowledge him at all? Would he have to pull a crazy stunt and be bold, or would he end up continuing at the dreadfully slow, and painfully steady pace. With his luck, he was sure he could cause a disaster if he tried the first option, but that wouldn’t be too bad. He’d love to see how all these skillful people could adapt to a situation like a fire or disaster that put their lives on the line.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: that rather morbid ending was not originally planned, but here we are. I don't know where I'm going to go with that thought, so good luck to me :') 
> 
> I impulsively added the habit of Mikan saying mean things randomly with no stuttering because I wanted to make her character a little more i n t e r e s t i n g
> 
> Have a nice day, thank you for sticking with my writing until now!
> 
> Random idea: Talent swap, Ultimate Magician Kokichi and Ultimate Supreme Leader Himiko. What? It sounded really intriguing


	12. Carpets and Fingerpainting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The two days spent lying on a hospital bed are spent quickly. Nagito unintentionally shares a moment with the younger workers of the palace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, sorry there was no update last week! I usually only release one one-shot between chapters, but this time I put out one and another fic that's in progress in order to take a break from this fic. I just feel like my writing for it has been dropping in quality and wanted to take it slow this time. 
> 
> Thank you, please enjoy,,, :)

His two days in the medical bay were short in length, but felt dreadfully long, like watching paint dry from a wall. Nagito’s dreams never came true, and his highness seemed to have decided that visiting him was pointless. He supposed that was entirely rational of him. He’d caught Nagisa peeking through the door, which was cracked open just enough for a decent view, but the blue hair and eyes soon disappeared when they realized that Nagito was staring at him. He remembered hearing Ibuki’s voice while he was asleep, and could only assume she’d come to visit him too. The nurse, Mikan, would walk in every now and then with a meal, muttering about how ‘insensitive and perverted’ Teruteru was, then immediately seize up trembling afterwards. One time Teruteru even came to bring him a bowl of strawberries himself, and although Nagito was grateful, he wasn’t really in the mood to be bombarded by one attempt to seduce him from the other.

He’d played it off with his highness and Mikan, but in reality, when the memory of the wardrobe falling on top of him finally settled in, he felt his heart pinch and squeeze a little. He’d been dealing with his luck fine in the palace so far, but this was probably the worst it’s escalated to in a matter of years. A broken limb… as he said the other day, it was only a fair consequence for the miracle that was ‘Kuro’ being the king, but it was still shocking, stressful even. What if his luck ended up doing this to someone else at the palace? Anything was fine if it was just him, but he just couldn’t live with himself if his luck went on such a warpath that it affected one of the talented Kamukura palace staff members.

Either way, right now it was Monday, and Mikan was checking up on him before he was released, patting his cast all over, flipping through several pieces of parchment that seemed to have scrawly writing layered all over it (perhaps they were notes?). Nagito was just sitting there in silence. He never usually engaged in a conversation with her, as they were both awkward and unwilling to start. He wasn’t interested enough in her to pester her with questions from someone like him either. As she gingerly went along with her business, Nagito actually felt a little nervous. Not because of her touch, no, but because soon he’d be leaving off to the king’s room, and soon he’d be doing whatever he asked, and very soon would he have to figure out how to function without his writing arm.

“O-okay! Your f-f-free to go now… I hope I don’t ha-ve to see you here very s-soon…!” Mikan squeaked out, and Nagito nodded semi-enthusiastically. He sat up from the hospital bed and managed to hold his wobbling legs firm on the floor. He took one step after another, until he was finally able to push against the fragile wooden door with his working left hand.

Nagito felt steadier and steadier in his walking as the hallway stretched out before him, and he eventually reached the ‘guest room’ Kirumi had mentioned that led into the throne room. However, as he shakily grabbed the doorknob, his arm retracted at the sudden stomping of footsteps from across the hallway. 

“Hey! You there! Trying to break into someone’s room now are we? And right after breaking your damn arm too! Are you crazy?” Nagito turned to face Fuyuhiko, who was standing arms crossed and highly upset. A sneer plastered his face, and Nagito hurriedly felt the need to explain before he was hurt or worse, even. 

“This is my new room! After my meeting with the king, I had to transfer closer to the throne room. You may ask Kirumi later if you like.” Fuyuhiko’s olive orbs seemed to suddenly widen with his freckles, and his eyebrows inched up at the mention of the king. His tough act flew off, and for a mere moment, Fuyuhiko spoke clearly and seriously. “About the king. You’re his new servant, right? Be careful. There are some people who would use you to get to him….” Nagito tilted his head, slightly threatened by the energy Fuyuhiko was giving off. “ I guess you met him yesterday instead of today, huh?”

Nagito blinked, as it was unusual to sense such a solemn and wary attitude coming from Fuyuhiko. No matter how short or baby-faced the blonde in front of him appeared, he still seemed to loom above him, threatening, like an omen of sorts. Nagito was ready to gush and go on and on a large tangent about his meeting with the king, but he felt the words shoved back into his throat from his highness’s words earlier. No one was supposed to know that ‘Kuro’ was the king, so he was supposed to tell everyone he was working with ‘Kuro’ and had been utterly rejected. A shame he couldn’t brag about it, although it wasn’t as if someone like him deserved bragging rights in the first place. He tried to change his behavior to one more sullen and depressed, but he wasn’t sure if it had the effect he wanted.

“Ah… correct, but things didn’t go as planned. The king abhors me, in fact. Ahahahahaha!” Nagito let out bittersweet laughter, and it felt like the words that came out of his mouth were in fact the truth. Fuyuhiko looked both confused and uncomfortable. “...I’m content to be working personally under Kuro, though! I think… he’s really hopeful, and gallant… not to mention handsome…” but suddenly Fuyuhiko was gone; nowhere to be seen. He didn’t think he’d rambled on too long, and after enough glancing around, it was obvious that Fuyuhiko had just left from small noises down the hallway. Either way, he needed to go see his highness now.

After pulling out the key Kirumi gave him and unlocking the fake guest room, he mused over Fuyuhiko’s words back then. He was insistent on letting him know that people would use him or hurt him in order to reach the king, so he wondered if Fuyuhiko was here to stop that. He was part of the king’s personal guard (although they didn’t guard the king, they were more just important figures within the knights) so Nagito was sure he had good intentions. He would take Fuyuhiko’s hope and words of advice and keep them close to heart. He didn’t mind being hurt, but if that would lead to the king having to make a difficult decision, or getting hurt himself, then he’d avoid it at all costs. 

He found himself showered in the holy lighting of the massive throne room area again, and his heart clenched as he missed how the king had looked sitting on the throne. However, there was something on the throne, shining, sparkling in the skewed sunlight. He approached closer still, and placed a gentle hand over his own mouth to muffle a gasp. The black and white crown was sitting, unaware and unseeing on the gentle plush red of the throne cushion, and Nagito’s shadow found itself settling over the crown, and he reached out two fingers to glide over the smooth surface. He surely wasn’t supposed to be here, or stroking the crown like this, but he couldn’t help it. It only made sense that his highness had abandoned the crown here, but he felt sad knowing he wouldn’t see it adorned atop the king’s head of long hair. 

He let go of the crown, and bided his time a bit longer. He’d been too busy focusing on how ‘Kuro’ was the king to notice, but the architecture and design was actually beautiful. The ceiling stretched high above him, and there was another mural that featured those two girls he’d also seen in the first ballroom’s ceiling. However, this time, he was also able to recognize in the middle of the two of them, were three people, clearly identifiable as Makoto Naegi, Kyoko Kirigiri, and Byakuya Togami. He smiled up at the murals of them, as he held more respect for the trio than he could say. The mural was quite detailed and surrounded by black and white carved leaf branches in a frame. That was definitely one thing odd about the throne room. The exterior of the palace was black and white, and the throne room seemed to sit exactly in the middle of the color divide, so it too was pure white on the left, and a dark ebony on the right. And down the middle, where the colors split, was a long, soft red carpet, the same one he had kneeled on just three days ago. He kneeled down again and shifted the cast on his right arm to his thigh, feeling the carpet with his left hand. It was velvety, soft even. As if no human had trampled on it thus far. 

A rustle sounded behind him, but he heard no one speak. Hoping for the best, he turned around, and his wish was granted. 

“Your highness, I haven’t seen you since Saturday! I just arrived here-- reporting for duty-- and I noticed how wonderfully maintained the throne room is, especially how soft and delicate this carpet feels. And besides that, kneeling on this carpet feels satisfying, in a way…!” Nagito felt his spirits lift, even celebrate at seeing the king again, and all the worries he had earlier drifted from his mind as if they were hallucinations, never there in the first place.

His highness kneeled down right next to him, and when he started tentatively touching the carpet, Nagito’s mind couldn’t get over the fact that the king was really here at his level, kneeling beside him as an equal.

It disgusted him. 

He almost felt the urge grab to snatch the king’s wrist and pull it away, but instead he gave it a gentle push. The king pulled back and looked at him, confused.

“Your highness, sir, there’s no need to touch it for your own, and especially lower yourself to the ground like that. Only someone like me deserves to be kneeling on the ground like this, and you’re far above me.” He looked down to the ground, slightly frustrated that the king even considered actually joining him in touching the carpet that his lowly feet had stood on.

“I don’t know where you got all that from. It’s just a carpet, Nagito.” He blankly stated, then resumed touching the carpet as Nagito silently wished he wasn’t so overdramatic. He still felt bad though. Why had he caused the king to participate in such a useless activity? So unbecoming of him. 

“...yes, it is soft, possibly even delicate as you said. I suppose you could describe it that way. It reminds me of your…” his eyes seemed to wander to some place on Nagito’s head, and he glanced up to see what he could be talking about. The king’s tone was somehow gentle, but in an artificial way. Like he was purposefully distorting it to sound like that in order to settle Nagito’s own nerves. It only made Nagito feel more uncomfortable. 

Suddenly he felt the unmistakable pressure of firm fingers on his head. Nagito blinked, and directed his gaze to his hair. Atop it comfortably rested a dark hand, which began to scratch and drag over his scalp. Before he could think twice about it, he was too focused on the sensation and found himself relaxing at the motions. Subconsciously, he reached up a hand to press the other down, making it ruffle more. Although he was surprised when the hand he touched pulled away almost immediately, leaving his own hand the only one left atop his head. Realizing what he’d just done, Nagito seized, frozen in regret and full to the very brim with apologies. And it didn’t take him long to flash straight back to when Kuro-- well, the king, had made it explicitly clear that…

The king does not condone nor like physical contact with another unless he initiates it.

Ah… he’d messed up greatly. He shoved his eyes away from the king’s piercing gaze, and he could feel that he’d done something wrong. He shrunk back as if he was falling, and brought his hand up to brush his bangs from his forehead.

“I’m…! I’m sorry! You always made sure to let me know that scum like me shouldn’t be allowed to even be physically near someone like you unless you give the okay… and…” his highness’s gaze seemed to be ripping his heart apart piece by piece and throwing it to the ground. Perhaps it was just his imagination, but he really didn’t mind, because either way he felt incredibly guilty. 

“...okay. It’s okay. It is likely a fault of my own as I do not usually behave this way. I was merely making a comparison between the carpet and your hair.” the king paused, as if deliberating whether it was alright to continue. Nagito managed to look him in the eye and prevent himself from collapsing from the pressure of his own emotions. And with that sentence the king became tense, his shoulders tightened. Nagito tried his best to smile.

“I understand. Now, your highness, um, what were you going to have me do today before we… got preoccupied?” He tried his best to pick up the conversion, although that in itself was a lot to take on when it comes to the man in front of him. He was sure he did a fairly good job clearing the awkward air, though. At least, hopefully he did.

The king turned to face him and stood up from the fuzzy carpet. Nagito followed, and watched as the king methodically began to straighten his suit blazer and adjust the crinkles and creases in his white button up. He dusted off his shoulders, and awaited an answer from the other. “We need to go eat breakfast at the dining hall first, and then afterwards you can help me run some errands.” The slightly taller of them nodded and so they set off back out through the ‘guest room’ door. He wanted to try and talk to the king more on their walk to the dining hall, but the other seemed to be ignoring him, so Nagito just clutched his heart and stared down at the tile as they made their way further to the door. 

After retrieving their silver platters and going through Nagito’s usual routine with Teruteru, Nagito walked with ‘Kuro’ to his usual table, where, at account of him being slightly later than usual, only Kotoko, Jataro, and Nagisa were left. They sent him an acknowledging glance, and although Hiyoko seemed a little disoriented at his arm, from her look towards Jataro and Nagisa it looked like they two boys had told all of them about his injury. The king seemed to depart off to a table on his own, and Nagito was about to join him when Kotoko began talking. 

“Hi again, sunflower demon! Woah, so it really is true that you broke your arm.” She lifted a tiny finger with pointed nails to poke at his cast, and Nagito just stared down as the pad of her finger pressed against it. “Jataro! Do you still have some of that finger paint Angie gave you yesterday? I wanna doodle over it!” The masked boy nodded silently, and pulled out an array of different paint colors in neat wooden containers. Kotoko opened them up and seemed to start dragging away over his cast without his own permission, though it wasn’t as though he cared. 

“So, Kotoko, what are you… em… ‘doodling’ on there?” He asked, and Kotoko didn’t tear her gaze from the bandages for a second. She had her tongue stuck out and was very focused, barely even bothering to acknowledge his question with an edge to her voice. “I’m drawing a cute little smiley face with demon horns on it. Demons may be evil, but their horns are kinda cute, you know? ... don’t take that as a compliment.” He giggled, and made sure to let her know that he ‘would never.’ 

“...don’t forget about me, Kotoko… lemme have some. I wanna make something too... “ Jataro dipped his pointer finger in the black finger paint and joined her in the art making as well. Nagito glanced down and it wasn’t hard to tell that he was trying to draw the silhouette of buildings, and after enough thought, probably those of Towa city. Nagito watched as Kotoko added a pointy tail onto her demon, and Jataro, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, mixed his original black outline with different shades of brown. During the whole experience Nagito tried his best to eat his breakfast with his other hand, and besides the occasional wobbly fork or sausage dropped onto the ground, he was able to digest most of it better than he thought he would.

“H-hey! Kotoko!”

Suddenly he felt the table tremble, and looked to the side to see Kotoko holding Nagisa’s wrist, one finger deep in the blue finger paint. Nagisa was trying to pull away, but Kotoko’s grip was tight and unyielding. 

“Come ON, Nagisa, you’ve been glancing at the paint all jealous this whole time! Stop denying your childish urges and just drop your whole ‘maturity’ and ‘pride’ thing! Go on…” Kotoko whined happily, and Nagisa scowled, but didn’t immediately pull away after she let go. Instead, he started meticulously brushing blue paint on Nagito’s cast, earning a grin from both himself and the pink haired girl. 

“...you stop smiling. I’m only doing this because she wants me too, that’s it.” Nagisa said to Nagito, and the latter just couldn’t bury his smile back down. The child rolled his eyes and got back to work, starting to apply yellow paint to an empty star-shaped area he’d left amidst all the blue. It went on like that until Nagisa started forcibly cleaning up all the paint and steering them to the exit, Jataro turning around to wave goodbye. 

He waved back, and turned around to see the king fiddling with his hair one table away from him, and suddenly it all came rushing back to him what he was supposed to be doing after breakfast. He hurriedly made his way over, and gave a short bow of apology when the former head butler finally acknowledged his presence. His highness, however, seemed to be rather focused on his arm.

“Where did all those drawings come from?” He inquired, and Nagito glanced down at the three splashes of color on his cast. 

“Those children I was sitting with kindly gifted me with them. They’re so pretty, aren’t they? Especially Jataro’s, it looks like he put a lot of effort into the shading. I guess Angie might be rubbing off on him. Not that that's a bad thing, of course! To have such talent at a young age… is truly remarkable. All I could do at twelve years old was sing little nursery rhymes. And can’t anyone do that? It must’ve been so silly to my maids that I would brag about how I had all the lyrics memorized, and perform them to my stuffed animals. I’m sure they were just trying to do their jobs, but they might have felt pity for me and stopped to listen.”

The raven male stared at him through his long rant, nodding every now and then at his words. It may not be intentional, but he was quite good at listening. 

“If the maids didn’t seem to have a positive reaction, why did you not just bring your songs to your parents?” the king noted, and it took the other a few moments to understand what he meant. He wasn’t used to being asked questions about his parents. After all, everyone he lived near and all the servants in the manor were made aware of their status through one gossiping or another. He could feel tears peeking at the corners of his eyes, but quickly blinked them away, eyelashes tickling his cheeks. 

“Ah. That was not an option at the time, as they were no longer… with me.”

If the king’s eyes widened in pity or disbelief for a moment, he didn’t see it. The nobleman just nodded, glanced to the side, and motioned at Nagito to follow him out the dining hall. And while, of course a part of him felt crushed at the king’s lack of care, he was glad he didn’t have to deal with one right now. It wasn’t a topic so easily conversated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was more 'fluffy' than usual (pun intended), and I'm in love with the fingerpainting part hehe. Anyways, I dropped some hints for upcoming plot points here, but aside from that it was mostly peaceful. hmhmhm, I wonder what the two of our boys will get up to next chapter. 
> 
> Random fact: the warriors of hope scene was originally going to be centered around Hiyoko, but I was thinking about,, the children,,,,
> 
> Random idea: The future foundation (well, the part that wants to help the remnants) finds that images trigger memories from the remnants and give them slightly functional cell phones they used to own so they can scroll through the photo gallery. Hajime is looking through his own and finds photos of Nagito and Izuru's relationship in despair. He decides to confront Nagito about it and Nagito, having not previously remembered what went down between them, goes into a meltdown at everything coming back to him.
> 
> A N Y W A Y S  
> Thank you for reading, I hope you have a good day!


	13. Errands and Dark Chocolates

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito makes some discoveries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *takes deep breath*  
> Chapter finally finished! Sorry this ended up being kinda filler, I wanted to outline the plot of next chapter, because oh boy you should all be ready for that one. Stuff is... gonna go down.

They moved briefly down the hallway, the king remaining silent and Nagito occasionally pointing out a pretty chair or decoration that lay there. He would occasionally attempt to start a conversation, but he always got little to no physical or verbal response from his highness, making him slump and retreat. A melancholic feeling settled into his senses, as recently the king had been much less talkative than when he played the role of ‘Kuro.’ Perhaps he didn’t feel the need to educate him anymore? Maybe the king had already set him aside as boring. After all… true to Hajime’s words, the king was planning to marry him no matter what, so it was hard to read the meaning of his actions and sentences. 

Rapid footsteps echoed down the hallway, and they were both made aware of a new presence. 

“Heya! Tentacle hair and cloud hair! I’ve been looking for you two sneakies.” yelled Ibuki Mioda, a little too loudly, in fact. She was ecstatic, jumping up and down, switching her gaze from the king to himself, over and over again. He watched as the king pressed two fingers to pinch the bridge of his nose, and could tell that his highness might not be particularly fond of her. 

He, however, had been meaning to ask her something important.

“Alright, come with me, you two. You’re going to watch our performance! The three of us will make magic! ... it is your responsibility to critique, you know...” she nudged her head towards Kuro, and with the sound of her voice, Ibuki may as well have shattered the windows with noise. The three of us? Nagito was aware that Hiyoko was working with Ibuki, but a third? Who might that be? 

Suddenly, watching the king evade her grasp from the corner of his eye, Nagito was lurched forward and linked arm-to-arm with Ibuki. She started pulling him along, but he tried to reach out for the apathetic man observing him. “...Kuro…!” he yelled, taking care not to call him ‘your highness.’ 

But ‘Kuro’ simply shrugged, glancing away as the kidnapping was in progress. “Do that for me. And while you’re at it… inspect the quality of Teruteru’s food, and tell Kirumi that the hallway by the first ballroom has experienced enough traffic that it is in need of mopping. Goodbye.”

All the words rushed past Nagito’s ears. He was supposed to do all that? To remember all that? Not to mention… had he just misconceived that this job would involve spending more time with the king than… less? It felt like he was just a mere servant, going around and performing useless tasks for someone who he was supposed to be marrying. And while, granted, the title of the occupation was ‘manservant,’ he had expected it to be more special. He was in no position to deny the king anything, but an itchy, straining feeling was calling out to lash out and face the consequences later. 

“Kuro, sir, wait!”

“Who are you talking to? Mr. Kuro is already gone, Soggy toe!” Ibuki wondered aloud, and Nagito glanced around to confirm what she was saying, only to find that it was indeed true. He’d stood around too long… it was anticlimactic for all the courage he’d built up, and only served to dishearten him more than a little. He regrettably kept his arm hooked with Ibuki’s, staring introspectively at the ground as she led him off to the stage. 

“...say, Ibuki, do you know if Kuro has another name that I’m not aware of? I mean, his name is rather oddly fitting, isn’t it? Kuro, as in the night black of his hair? My-- um, my intuition is just telling me there’s something off about it.” 

“Wow, Ibuki didn’t know Nagito was a fellow conspirator! But nope! According to my testimony, your theory is wrong! Kuro is Kuro, at least to Ibuki!”

How despairing… would he really have to wait for Hajime’s return then? It felt like his time not knowing his highness’s name stretched on forever...

\---

One final guitar strum struck like lightning crackling across the room as Ibuki’s screams ceased, and Kotoko ended her song, the two of them including Hiyoko all striking proud poses in front of him. His ears tingled from the sheer loudness of the performance, and he blinked a couple of times to try and scatter the pain from his head. 

“...so I hope you enjoyed our song, ‘My Stuffed Lion is Actually my Boyfriend!?’” Ibuki yelled from atop the stage as if she were addressing the whole world, while in reality, it was just someone like him alone in the place where the audience should be. 

“Hey, dumbass! Don’t just awkwardly stare at us!” Hiyoko screeched at him, which caused Nagito to shake himself out of the daze. With a shaky hand from the noise, he slapped his single working palm against the cast on his left arm, giving them a bright smile and starting (well, more accurately trying) to clap enthusiastically. He even stood up as he tried to make his applause sound like that of many, and could see Ibuki give a well-deserved bow, to be followed by bows of Kotoko and Hiyoko’s own. Eventually his arms got tired from moving back and forth, so he took back his seat, the ever present smile still plastered on his face. 

“So, sunflower boy! What did you think?” Kotoko skipped right off the steps of the stage, and up to the seats, plopping down in one about three feet away from him. Ibuki chased after her, while Hiyoko remained on the wooden stage alone, arms crossed and impatiently tapping her foot. 

He was excited to share how he felt about it, but there was just one thing. “I have so much to say about such a wonderful performance, but might I add that it is rather lengthy. I’ve found recently that people have no interests, in the ramblings of a nobody like me…” He added, biting his lip and awaiting a response. 

“Ibuki thinks people who talk a lot are cool! And obnoxious.” She leapt up from the seat to the left of Kotoko’s. “But in a good way!” she flashed a smile at Nagito, and that was all the permission he needed. 

“You can tell me to stop any time, but… I thought it was so amazing! You’re all so talented, so… hopeful! And you all have made such good teamwork and bonds in such a short amount of time that it almost seems like a miracle, or perhaps the god of luck decided to focus on you instead of me… I’ve never seen a simple guitar look and sound so colorful, energetic, and bright, just like you, Ibuki. I don’t even know how you managed to get it to sound so aggressive, to be honest. Kotoko, the lyrics you sang flowed together so well, they felt so poetic and bittersweet in stark comparison to the happy words that Ibuki was yelling. And, I’m not sure if it was on purpose, but Ibuki’s lyrics worked like an outer shell to your own, as if trying to hide or conceal the true meaning that yours were trying to complain. And last of all, of course your dancing was fantastic, Hiyoko. I’ve never seen such a beautiful dance before, and I assume it must be from your foreign country, because your style and grace felt so exotic in a way. Like a bright blue butterfly among monarchs…”

Nagito was surprised to find that they had all listened to him intently, nodding their heads at the many reviews he gave them, eagerly taking in the compliments that many back home hadn’t cared to hear. Ibuki wore a proud grin and Hiyoko pouted, flushed, while Kotoko just twirled her hair knowingly. 

“Like Ibuki said, me and my crew make magic! You’re a really good critic, Nagito. Kuro just rolls his eyes and tells me it was ‘satisfactory’! Like, booooring.” She sneered.

“Everyone back in that ugly trash dump kept trying to force me into the acting career, but I’ve decided I’m totally gonna slap them all in the face by becoming a singer instead! Just like Sayaka Maizono! She may be old and in the ground, but she’s the most famous musician of all time and she’s from Towa! Heck, I think I’ll be better than her one day. And cuter…” 

“For someone who loves comparing themselves to a trash can, you’re pretty good at making people feel the opposite. Not that I was moved at all by your cheesy ass words, but you’ve clearly got those two reeling.”

\--- 

“A private meeting with me, Nagito? Are you sure that this is just a food inspection?” the resident chef muttered suspiciously, wiggling two brown eyebrows for an extra effect. 

Nagito scoffed, but he did have to respect Teruteru for his talent. He wasn’t sure if he was exactly qualified to be examining his food, but what the king commanded, the king would get… he supposed. He didn’t like thinking about these errand boy tasks he’d been assigned, but in the end trash like him surely deserved worse, and beggars can’t be choosers. 

“It is… weird that I of all people am out here tasting all these dishes by my lonesome… huh…” he mused, mostly to himself, and in the corner of his peripheral vision he could see Teruteru using two fingers to scratch his chin. He couldn’t really focus on the taste or quality of the dish as soon as the king began to swim in his thoughts. It wasn’t quite as lovestruck as before, though. More… disappointed, if he had to admit it, but he’d never want to actually tell himself he could be disappointed in someone as great as his highness. 

“It might just be me, Nagito darling, but today you seem like plain bagel cream instead of strawberry flavored.” Teruteru said, then proceeded to shudder, almost violently. “I hate plain bagel cream you know, it’s always so depressing and without that delectable spark of flavor. Like those royal women and men that stop by every now and then, always so deliriously pretty, but no personality at all.” He rubbed his thumb and pointer finger together in a triangle, and Nagito couldn’t help but sigh under his breath. 

He took a moment to gather all his thoughts with the added lies he had to tell to conceal the king’s identity, and then, why, it was beyond him, started venting. “It’s… just kind of disappointing you know? The king rejected me the second he saw me, which was of course, sensible, and it at least allowed me to score a job with Kuro. But rather than spend time with him, I’ve just been sent to do minor errands like this. Typical, even special for trash like me… but… I--” He choked on his own voice, not wanting to continue burdening even Teruteru with his problems. 

“Sure sounds to me like you have a crush on our resident butler. Oh it truly breaks my heart that my attempts to seduce you have failed!” Teruteru swooned, overdramatic and comical, but it didn’t do a thing to lighten Nagito’s mood. “But since you’re so upset, why don’t you stand up heroically-- and handsomely-- to spit the truth of how you’re feeling in his face! Here, you can even take some…” Teruteru licked his lips as he reached out for a plate that sat next to all the deserts. “Dark chocolates to butter. him. up~ I find that our dream man’s face always softens when he sees them. Who knew that neutral being could have opinions, right? His mysterious aura is a part of his charm though…”

Nagito gently took the plate from Teruteru’s hand with his single right one, too melancholic to refuse it. Should he talk to his highness about it? He was the king… it was truly disrespectful for someone like him to speak up or complain at all. What would he do with the chocolates then? He couldn’t just refuse them.

Using the chocolates as an excuse, Nagito made up his mind to confront the king tomorrow morning. He’d suffer the consequences happily. 

\---

“Celeste!”

“What is it, you? I thought I would never have to hear your annoying voice again, teehee!” Celeste snickered, all too politely, when Nagito ran up to her in the hallway, breaths hoarse from such a small amount of exertion. She began to walk away when he waited to catch his breath, but he raised a desperate hand to grasp at his sleeve, accidentally untying the ribbon attached to it in the process. 

“You.” Celeste shivered, disgusted. “Get your hands off of me! Look what you’ve done, my white ribbon is on the ground all dirty.” She bent down mechanically, almost like a doll, picking up the ribbon and setting it in a pocket. Nagito would feel ashamed if he actually respected her. Well, in hindsight, he was indeed already quite ashamed. 

“Have you seen Kirumi anywhere? I have been scouring the palace, but it’s like I have no luck… how ironic!” 

“Kirumi is attending a very special appointment right now, that cannot be interrupted by someone like you. Why do you need to see her anyways?” She raised a curious hand to her mouth, finger gauntlet grazing her red lip. 

“Kuro wants me to let her know that the… hallway… by the um… give me a moment I forgot.” He managed to get out, and Celeste rolled her eyes. “The hallway by the-- the first ballroom needs mopping.” 

She started walking towards him, leaving Nagito confused until she spoke up. “It is my job to handle cleaning requests today, so I will do excellent work on it.” Without warning, she loomed in closer, plucking a single dark chocolate from the plate he was carrying. He had almost dropped it, and could imagine it shattering on the floor if he had been so unlucky for that to happen. “I will take this as payment for my ruined ribbon.” And without a goodbye, she pranced away. 

\---

Nagito burst into the throne room from the secret entrance, and tiredly made his way to the king’s room to so desperately see if he was there. He’d planted the mission in his mind that he should report to his highness about his finished activities, although it was more of an excuse to just see him after such a long day. How pathetic of him. 

He raised a nervous hand and tapped his knuckles on the door, anxious to see if there would be a response. When there was none, he decided to move forward with a more verbal approach. 

“Um… your highness? It’s me, Nagito. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve finished all my tasks, as useless as I may seem.” He said rather loudly, but was met with silence. And he was about to leave, but footsteps approached and the door creaked open. He was met with a familiar face, but not that of Kuro’s, or the king’s. He was internally disappointed, but this was a lucky encounter nonetheless. 

“...Nagito?”

“Hajime! I’ve been waiting for you all week!” 

“You recognized me that fast..?”

“Must’ve been a lucky guess. Haha”

The door opened wider, and Hajime motioned for Nagito to come inside, which he happily obliged to. a single lamp was lit with an open flame, making the room glow with a red light. Hajime plopped down on the bed, and Nagito, not feeling worthy enough to be touching that piece of furniture, sat criss-crossed on the floor. They gave each other knowing looks as Nagito opened his mouth to talk. 

“I have a lot of things to tell you. Mostly questions. And an apology to give.”

Hajime tilted his head from above, a curious look in his eye. “Apologize? What for?”

Nagito let out a snicker at the other’s obliviousness, and ran a hand through his hair as he continued. “Well, first off, I broke my arm on accident. It's nothing to worry about." Hajime had been glancing nervously at his cast the whole time, so Nagito made sure to reassure him. " As for the apology... you could say I… misread the relationships between you, Kuro, and the king. After meeting ‘the king’ himself, I have definitely change my mind about the mysteries surrounding you ‘three.’” He glanced at the ground sheepishly, not wanting to look at the olive eyed one directly. 

“Oh. RIGHT. You met the king, I completely forgot… there’s no need to apologize, I guess it was a kinda? Logical conclusion. Still felt weird though. What do you think?” Hajime nervously replied, and Nagito had so many things that he thought that he needed to shove down at that moment. He wanted to get straight to the point, he urged himself to. 

“Please, tell me his name. He won’t give it to scum like me, and told me to get it myself. You are my last source, so if you don’t have it, I truly will lose hope…”

Hajime seemed to hesitate for a moment, before rolling his eyes as if the whole thing his highness had set up was ridiculous. He sent Nagito an understanding look.

“Izuru Kamukura.”

“Huh?”

“His name is Izuru Kamukura.”

Nagito was glad to know the truth, but a part of him was screaming that Hajime was messing with him. “Izuru Kamukura? But isn’t that the name of the orphanage founder that Junko named the kingdom after? So… Izuru bears the name of his own kingdom? Is that just how destined to lead he was?” 

“...slow down, Nagito. I guess you could say yes to all of those questions. I was left in the dark about the choice of name too, so I can’t be of much help. Knowing his name is enough though, right?” 

Nagito took a deep breath. Of course knowing Izuru’s name was enough. He’d been greedy, pestering Hajime with so many questions. For now, he’d stick with the information that he was so kindly gifted, and feel prideful at the fact that even he was able to discover the name. A small part of him glimmered with the hope that it might even impress Izuru. How nice it was to have a name with the face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Next chapter is going to be very plot filled, so hold your horses :)


	14. Flaws and Confrontations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito goes to confront the newly named Izuru. Stuff happens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh! A beginning apology! I totally forgot to write Nagito as if he had a broken arm last chapter, so I went back and fixed that. I tried to incorporate it somewhat smoothly in this one though.
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

“While I’m still here, I might as well ask. What do you think of him? Izuru, I mean.” Hajime inquired, flopping down onto the king sized bed and letting out a prompt sigh as he hit the pillows. So many pillows… Nagito shook his head away from his thoughts, instead distracting himself with Hajime’s question. 

“He’s… amazing.” Nagito breathed out, which earned a questioning look from Hajime. “Every action in which he runs this kingdom is so precise and sharp that I sometimes wonder to myself if he might be a god… one that scum like me shouldn’t even have the rights to touch.” He added at the end, thoughts drifting to ‘Izuru’ for what seemed like the millionth time that week. Nagito let out a couple weak giggles at the thought of how small he was compared to Izuru, like a speck of dust standing next to the mighty sun. And he was confused when Hajime rolled his eyes and let out a snort. 

“Ruling over the kingdom is the only thing that Izuru is godly at. He can’t feel empathetic for a single person in this universe, or feel much of anything, in fact. And he’s so cruel as to use you and deceive you into believing that he’d love you one day in order to gain an ‘asset’.” Hajime scolded dryly, and Nagito was once again hit by the realization that winning the king over was a lot harder than first imagined. He was stuck with a loveless marriage if he couldn’t be something to Izuru, and he’d just be used as the mascot for the kingdom. And he’d go to hell and back to prevent a horrible face such as his to be seen by everyone in Kamukura. Well. He’d go to hell and back if Izuru so much as told him to, but that was besides the point. 

“To be honest, though, I’m a little upset at your-- em, other personality though.” He nervously got out, not wanting to spew his problems onto Hajime. The guy only got one day a week, and he was here, filling it with stress. 

“Everyone in the palace is. Go on.” Hajime nodded, eyebrows slightly furrowed in worry.

Nagito sighed, and figured he was already in deep enough. “He told me that the courting was up to me, but how am I even supposed to attempt it if he doesn’t give me any time! I know it sounds selfish and that this is what I deserve but… I want to be more than some typical errand boy. With a role like that, I can’t even be a stepping stone to the hope of this kingdom.” And if he couldn’t do that, then what was his purpose here? “So I’ve decided to confront him about it tomorrow. Now that I know his name, I think I’ll finally be able to talk to him properly. He always seemed to turn cold when I called him ‘your highness’, haha…” Upon remembrance, he pulled the box of dark chocolates out of his small bag, and held them out in front of Hajime. “I even have these to give him! Would you like one?” 

Hajime seemed to drift away from the box. “I always preferred milk chocolate. You are right, though. I often see these laying on Izuru and mine’s dresser when I come here. It’s probably one of the only things he enjoys consistently.” 

“I have a favor to ask of you.” said Hajime after a long period of silence, a serious look on his face. Nagito’s curiosity was piqued, and he looked at the kind raven haired man, expectant. Hajime turned to him, and met his gaze. He looked serious, but soon a look of hesitation flashed across his face, almost as if he had decided against it. He shook his head, and Nagito was about to egg him on.

“That is-- um-- would you con… nevermind… get me a glass of orange juice before you leave?” He quickly covered whatever he was originally going to tell Nagito up, and the white haired one couldn’t help but feel disappointed. He would gladly do a favor for Hajime, however taxing it may be. 

\---

“Here you go, Hajime.” Nagito walked back in and handed him the glass, which he eagerly took and started taking awkward sips from.

“...so what were you actually trying to ask me to do? Don’t worry about me, I can take any--”   
“Go to bed Nagito.” Hajime cut him off, avoiding the question that had been plaguing his mind. “You’re going to need sleep to confront Izuru tomorrow, and it’s already late. I can always hang out with Ibuki or something. That girl never sleeps.” Nagito shook his head, feeling a sense that he wouldn’t get any further, and stumbled off to his room nearby, curiosity still ebbing in his skull. 

\---

‘ring-ring!’

The noise sounded in Nagito’s ears, who leapt up and rushed out of the door in his blue vest. That bell was the signal for him to come and see his highness-- no, Izuru, and he’d been anxiously waiting for it since he woke up that morning. He balanced the box of chocolates in his functioning hand, and used the elbow of his cast to push open the door of his own room. As soon as he got out, he paused. How was he going to confront Izuru? The king himself was right beyond this door frame, and he really believed he had the gall to even dare speak to him. Sure, he may be slightly noble, but that didn’t give him any right compared to a king. So how? He started getting antsy, tracing the outline of the lock on the doorknob with his pinky, and staring down at the small box of chocolates. 

...until Nagito realized that he'd opened the door without thinking. Izuru stood in the middle of the room, adorned with a red vest that shimmered below his regular black blazer. And as soon as he inhaled a single breath, those piercing vulturine eyes piercing directly into his skull. The plate of chocolates almost splattered on the floor as his breaths became quick in motion, but he tried to calm himself and look Izuru in the eyes. He ended up instead glancing at a black strand of hair that bounced with each breath the king took. 

Before Nagito could make his move, Izuru was beside him, opening the box and taking a chocolate out. But as soon as he retrieved one, the albino stumbled from the shock and dropped the rest of them on the floor. He quickly knelt down, picking them up, while the other just watched in disdain. 

“Apologies for the sudden approach. I had to make sure you weren’t carrying a weapon in there.” Nagito watched, somewhat distracted, as Izuru slipped the chocolate into his mouth, and even gave a small smile when the features on his face seemed to soften at the taste. Teruteru was right, he did seem to enjoy those. He fought the urge to learn how to make them just for Izuru, knowing that he’d most likely burn down the entire kitchen in the process. But why would Izuru assume he was carrying a weapon?

Nagito took a deep breath as he responded. “I would never hurt you, my king!” He refused to call Izuru by his true name until he was able to prepare himself. “Although, it is truly fascinating that you have quick instincts, truly befitting of a king. I mean, such a fast reaction time!” Nagito smiled as he picked up one of the smooth dark chocolates off the ground and plopped one into his mouth as well. Even after being on the floor for a little bit, they still tasted creamy and delicious. He wondered how much talent and practice Teruteru must’ve had to make something so… delicious. 

Dark strands brushed against the ground, tickling Nagito’s shoe as Izuru stepped forward to look down at him. “Why did you bring the chocolates? Coincidence? Flattery? Seduction? ... most likely bribery…” he mused to both himself at Nagito, who flushed over at the third reason. The blush quickly drifted from his face, and he nodded his head cheerfully. 

“You’ve got it! Bribery was exactly it… I’m afraid.” He bitterly chuckled, and above him, Izuru raised a single eyebrow as to wordlessly inquire what he wanted. A look of worry flashed across his face when Nagito realized that he may be considered selfish with words like that. “You don’t have to accept of course! I was actually really embarrassed to bring them here… but Teruteru insisted.. and..”  
“What did you want?” Izuru interrupted, getting to the point with those four words. Nagito flinched at the sudden cut off, but soon glanced to the ground and decided to get to the point as well.

“Like I said, you don’t need to accept…” Nagito repeated, making his intentions as clear as he could. “ but… I wanted to spend more time with you? I’ve just been doing errands, and you sit somewhere else at breakfast, so…” He paused as Izuru took a step forward, tilting his head in curiosity, and raising an eyebrow, questioningly. 

“Why should I spend more time with you? I do not find it worth the effort. You hardly catch my interest.” He said plainly, causing Nagito to flinch from just his words. He straightened back up under Izuru’s gaze, nervously pricking at his sleeve in order to pass the awkward silence. It was like he’d been burned. Of course, he knew he shouldn’t catch Izuru’s interest at all, and told himself repetitively that he was worthless… but… he had hoped…

“I’m not asking for much! Just a small session with you where we can talk, like when you went by Kuro.” He muttered, progressively growing louder with each word. Trash like him wasn’t asking for too much, right? He hoped he wasn’t going above his place. He just wanted (needed) even the tiniest bit more time to get to know the king so that he could at least make an attempt to do his job. If he was just going to be a nobody doing palace tasks all day, he couldn’t bear it. He wanted to at least help with something that the king desired. Izuru closed his eyes as if he were sleeping and let out a breath that was barely audible to Nagito’s ears. 

“‘Kuro’ is a fictional personality that was created to be a more sympathetic version of me in order to maintain a more progressive learning environment. If you truly want it so, I can continue acting as him--”

“No, that’s not what I want at all!” He yelled abruptly, earning a slight jostle of hair from the other. “Sorry for raising my disgusting voice but… I’m meant to court the king, not Kuro. If you’ll just give me a chance…” He glanced up at Izuru, who was notably tapping his foot on the ground. Was he growing impatient? Was his request too selfish? It couldn’t be, could it? The king crossed his arms and stared, eyes narrowed, and waiting for Nagito to continue on. “I’m sure I could do something to catch your interest if I could just have the opportunities to.” He’d do anything, use his luck, create a disaster, make something beautiful. Anything. “Please.” He was getting desperate, but to hell with it at this point.

“You had your opportunities. We’ve known each other for a week and a half, and you’ve failed to do anything that piques my curiosity more than a little bit. If you’re so unhappy you can pack up and leave. I would never marry someone so insolent.” Izuru said, abrasive in tone, lashing out in the same apathetic voice as usual. He barely even changed. 

Normally Nagito would easily agree about being rude, but his head screamed no. Everything he’d learned went against that last statement. And the indescribable urge to prove it wrong became too much for him to handle.

“That’s a lie.” He spat, suddenly regretting his decision to say that out loud. He covered his mouth with a sweaty hand, praying to any god that existed out there that Izuru hadn’t heard a word of what he just said. But he knew that the gods wouldn’t help him now, after all this time. After all, it was very clear to see that Izuru was in front of him, mildly confused. Probably expressing the most emotion Nagito had seen in his life. His heart still panged with the bitterness of what he’d said, but it almost felt… satisfactory. Satisfactory that he’d managed to surprise Izuru, even for a moment. He was high on the feeling. Addicted. So he kept going. 

“What? Surely you’re not so full of yourself to think that I would marry you no matter what.” Izuru shook off the foreboding feeling, blinking. And Nagito fought the urge to bring his lips up in a malicious smile. 

“Of course not. Have you been paying attention? I’m scum of the worst kind, and I’ve always acknowledged it. I just know that you were planning to marry me no matter what. No matter whether you loved me or not.” He continued, hesitant at first, but more confident as he went on. He glared at Izuru, determined to bring up what he’d really wanted to talk about this whole time. The other glared back in shock. “Ahaha…a public figure… surely such a magnificent job isn’t fit for someone like me...” he trailed off awkwardly, wondering how Izuru would respond to him knowing the truth of his plan. 

“How do you know?” Izuru scowled, and Nagito’s heart lit up, exhilarated, at the sight of slight panic in the king’s features. He smiled, stepping forward and leaning into Izuru’s face to stare into his eyes. And it may have been above and beyond the nervous mess he was when he entered, but he decided to wink, too attached to this feeling of finally being paid attention to mind how stupid he must’ve looked. Of course, he didn’t touch anything, he just stepped back and returned to his original position. And after that, well, he left the rest to silence. Izuru narrowed his eyes at the empty answer, approaching him in a similar manner, stepping forward and staring into his eyes at a rather close proximity. 

He could feel Izuru’s breath on his cheek as he spoke, making his nerves tingle in anticipation. “I said, how did you know.” And it was too close and too intimidating to ignore. He panicked and backed away, knowing someone like him wasn’t quite good enough to beat Izuru at this interrogation game yet. And before the other could loom closer again, he decided to spit it out. 

“I have my sources, Izuru. Someone like me… making so many helpful acquaintances, if my luck doesn’t make up for itself soon, perhaps the castle might even burn down. Ahaha! And wouldn’t that be fun…!” He snapped back, chuckling at the wonder of it all. A lot of good things had happened since he came here, he felt ecstatic. Perhaps even manic, with the way he was behaving now. He glanced down at the one repercussion of luck, his broken arm. It clearly wasn’t enough to make up for all the fortune he’d encountered. 

“What did you just say?” Izuru asked, more composed now, as if he was slowly starting to connect everything in his brain. “Izuru?” he added, drawing attention to that part of the statement. Ah. He supposed he’d gotten ahead of himself and revealed Izuru’s real name without thinking. Well, since they were bringing everything up now, it couldn’t hurt to announce that too. 

“Your name, of course! My luck even brought me the beautiful name Izuru, it’s quite lovely sounding by the way. Izuru Kamukura… how curious that you were named after the founder of Junko and Mukuro’s orphanage. It’s almost scary, in fact. As if you were meant to rule from the day you were born.” He mused, mostly to himself, but Izuru was eating up every word of it. The name rolled nicely off his tongue now that he was finally calling the king by it, and it was wonderful to get that off his chest too. 

The next few minutes passed in silence, and when the adrenaline in his veins finally slowed down in the stream of blood, Nagito was able to breathe deeply and think all the insane things he’d just said. Oddly? He didn’t regret it. He was never the best at hiding secrets from people he admired, especially someone as heavenly as Izuru. And it seemed that he’d finally caught his highness of guard. Speaking of which, the other finally stood up from their brooding seat on the bed, and while Nagito had expected him to walk over, he instead opted for the door. He took the doorknob firmly in his hand, and opened it. And Nagito wondered just what was going to happen. 

“Leave. And don’t come back. Not until I’ve thought enough about… this. Goodbye, Nagito Komaeda.”

And reluctantly, Nagito stood up and left, shaking from head to toe. From fear, anticipation or excitement? Perhaps a bit of each.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... yeah...
> 
> Anyways, 
> 
> Random note: Um? Nagito was like? Really *ahem* fucking creepy *ahem* this chapter, I'm pretty proud of it. 
> 
> Random idea: Not even related to danganronpa but,,, Albedo,, from Genshin Impact is pretty...


	15. Advice and Peculiarity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which children give Nagito love advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooo baby, we're back. i was actually grinding on an 8k one-shot for a different fandom (me, writing anything aside from Kamukoma? Wild, I know.) while I lost motivation on this.
> 
> I finally got it back though, and boy was this chapter fun to write, especially the end. Possibly even more enjoyable than the last one.

A month.

It had been a month since Izuru last reached out to him.

His arm had fully healed under Mikan’s care, and it was brand new apart from a small ache that he received after removing the cast a couple days ago. He’d still been going to the same room, and watching Izuru as he saw him in the hallways, but he never spoke unless Izuru initiated the conversation himself. And he didn’t. Of course he talked things over with Hajime everytime the other personality showed up, and sometimes, selfishly, during their conversations, he’d pretend that he was talking to Izuru instead. How stupid of him. The two weren’t alike in the least, in fact, aside from their shared appearance, they might as well be considered different people.

It had started slowly. Like a venom, coursing through his veins. Somehow, he had been immune at first to being ignored, figuring that it was best he had told Izuru everything he knew, and feeling exhilarated that he’d managed to surprise the man. However, that feeling of superiority didn’t last long. He doesn’t even remember why he considered himself to be so in the first place. It slowly started fueling into him that maybe he’d disappointed Izuru. Maybe he’d been so ridiculous and off the handle that evening that the king no longer wanted to associate with him, like the creep he was. It would line up with his luck cycle… and it would only mean that Izuru had finally recognized him as the scum he was.

So it was alright, then. He’d been telling himself that something like that would happen for so long, so why did it feel… so wrong? So bittersweet? It felt like a large chunk of his life had been stolen from him, and the empty space where it used to be could no longer be filled. All and all…

He wanted Izuru back.

“In my opinion, he’s being rather childish.” Nagisa commented, shaking Nagito out of his daze. He was at the breakfast table, musing for the millionth time about that day while he managed to get some food in his belly. He was still with the same group as usual, aside from the unreliable Fuyuhiko, who would show up only one or two days a week. The children, especially Kotoko, had started treating him a lot more… neutrally (which he doesn’t deserve, he preferred when they scowled at him) and the topic of ‘Kuro’ had come up when Kotoko asked why ‘weird butler man’ didn’t talk to him anymore.

Nagisa continued on at Nagito’s attentive gaze, using a fork to mess with the vegetables on his plate. “I don’t know what the hell you two are fighting about, but ignoring the problem isn’t exactly helping anything. It’s even worse that you LET him ignore you.” He snapped, and Nagito scratched his head, sheepish. He wanted to talk to the king… but it didn’t seem like the other wanted to talk to him, so he didn’t care to reach out. 

Jataro spoke up next. “I mean… I’m surprised that.. you even got Mr. Ku-row to hate you in the firs’ place. It dusn’ seem like he hates anyone… even me… he’s just,, neutral.” Was that true? Did Izuru really hate him, or was that just what it looked like? He hoped dearly that that wasn’t the case but a small part of him didn’t doubt Jataro in the least. 

Kotoko leaped up to slam her hands on the table soon after, ready to give her part of advice as well. The new addition to the kids’ friend group had been certainly making a mark around the palace, always defensive but bubbly at the same time. She really was such a hopeful person. They all were, after what they’d all been through. Of course he didn’t know the details of their past, but it was easy to hear the sadness and regret into their voices when talking about Towa Kingdom.

“Don’t worry about it, Sunflower demon!” Kotoko yelled out, pointing a finger in the sky decidedly. “There’s no perfect couple without a little bit of fighting! And there’s always a bit more passion when you make up, kyaaa!” She squealed, somehow excited about the romance between them. Wait, romance? Waitwaitwaitwaitwait.

“U-- um, Kotoko, we’re not… in a relationship!” Not yet, he thought. He shook the notion out of his head. “It was just a fight between…” Could he even call him and Izuru friends? They were more like reluctant partners, or unrequited admiration. It slowly dawned upon them that their relationship hadn’t progressed much at all. Goodness… “a fight between employer and employee.” He waved his hands nervously, trying to bring down Kotoko’s assumption. “Yeah!... that.”

“Pfft!”

Hiyoko burst out into laughter, slamming her hand on the table over and over until the chuckles were all that filled his ears. It lasted oh so long, and Nagito couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly be so funny. The giggling slowly cooled down until it slid to a reluctant stop, Hiyoko panting and letting out giggly breaths. “Hehehe! That was the most I’ve laughed in a loooong while, gotta thank you for that one!” She spat, more enjoying herself than making fun of him.

What was it? Why did she keep laughing? Was it really… that pathetic? Was he not even an employee to Izuru, did Hiyoko see him as Izuru’s slave? 

“I mean, you and him not being two fucking lovebirds? Funniest joke I’ve ever heard.” Hiyoko smirked devilishly, and suddenly it all came crashing down upon him, one big realization. Hiyoko was surprised that Nagito *wasn’t* in a relationship with Izuru. Could it really be that they appeared that way? He was sure that they hadn’t done anything even remotely romantic so… why? How idiotic of them to assume that absolute trash like him and such perfection as Izuru could even get together in the first place. But wait, wasn’t he assuming that too, in his quest to court the other? It was beginning to confuse him a bit.

“We aren’t romantically involved. That’s the truth, ahaha!” He tried to get out somewhat normally, but was instead met with shocked expressions on everyone’s faces.

Hiyoko looked genuinely surprised, the happy blush fading from her cheeks, and her eyes blinking in confuzzlement, and even harboring a look of disgust. “You seriously aren’t!? He basically stalked you everywhere, you’re the only one he’ll bother to hold a conversation with, you spend so much time alone… and… and… I was sure as hell you dumbasses were getting all perverted at night… no way!” She overdramatically sobbed out the last part. That last comment was not… necessary. It caused heat to rise to Nagito’s face at the visualization of it.

Nagisa cleared his throat, almost polite, and definitely courteous, while he opened his mouth to speak. “I was also… sure of the fact that you two were in a relationship. This is actually rather surprising to hear.” He blinked, shifting his arms to rest his chin on them. His nose crinkled up in surprise, and he tilted his head, as if he was curious for an explanation.

“Y’know… Nagisa… they basically are,, aren’t they? I mean… at thuh very least Kuro is closest to Nagito of all people,, are you sure you don’t have amnesia… Na-gi-to?” Jataro mumbled on, as complacent as always, adding on to Nagisa’s statement. 

“Yeah! I’m sure you must’ve hit your head along with your arm, poor thing…” Kotoko whispered happily, reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair.

Nagito, to say the least, was quite baffled.

“No!” His mental state may not be the greatest but… but… at the very least…! “You ALL thought that I was-- was involved like that with I-- Kuro!? Ridiculous! That’s just-- RIDICULOUS!” He complained, flustered and rather loudly compared to his normal, but there’s no way he could just let their statements go unchallenged. Of course he would just love to be in that kind of set up with Izuru, but this fast? He could only dream of being so lucky to progress fast like that. And oh, did he dream…

“Oh no.. look! The amnesia man is raising his voice at us!” Hiyoko whined sarcastically, standing up from her chair and mockingly running away. “Soooo scary…!” She added on, giggling with a hand over her mouth. Kotoko and Jataro soon joined in, and Nagito slumped into his seat, embarrassed. 

\---

Izuru was walking with Kirumi down the hallway, ordering her around about something, when suddenly she turned to him and briskly waved goodbye to the king. Izuru seemed confused, cocking an eyebrow to wonder why she had to depart so quickly, until he seemed to widen his eyes in realization that she was headed straight for Nagito, who had been standing, leaning against the wall, staring at Izuru as he passed by. Okay… so it was a little creepy, but he hadn’t talked to Izuru for a full month! He was getting a little voice-starved at this point, and staring at Izuru seemed to be the only way he could interact. 

“Nagito, I am extremely busy this week and I’ve heard that you are rather good at cleaning. Mind to assist me at the third ballroom?” Kirumi said, rather loudly compared to her usual, and placed two gloved hands on her lap, tilting her head. Of course he enthusiastically nodded to accept her offer, after all he hadn’t really been helpful at all this last month seeing as his boss was… rather reluctant to talk to him. If there was anything a useless someone like him could help with, he’d take it on. 

“Excellent. Follow me, if you will.” She gently curtseyed, and started taking certain footsteps down the hall, leaving Izuru behind. Nagito sent a furtive glance at Izuru, until he noticed that the other had been staring at him the whole time. Shaking his head away, he followed Kirumi, getting chills from the contact of their eyes. He had missed the shimmering red.

“So, Kirumi, why have you been so busy recently?” Nagito asked, curious, for he knew Kirumi was not one to usually become overwhelmed. She handled so many tasks in the palace already without help from much of anyone, and if anything was difficult for her, it must truly be fearsome. So what could the palace be preparing for?

“The visit of Jabberwock’s scientists happens to overlap with the suddenly scheduled arrival of her highness, Miss Akamatsu. It was all planned very recently, so I was not prepared to ready the castle for such important guests.” The scientists of Jabberwock? And the queen of Harmonia herself? He was aware from Ryota that the scientists’ arrival got postponed to sometime this month, but never could he have perceived that Kaede Akamatsu herself would be making an appearance. It would usually be an honor to just be in the same castle as her, let alone prepare the palace for her stay but… he found that he did not respect Miss Akamatsu too much. 

Her kingdom had truly fantastic origins but it had fallen as of recent, and rumors were spreading that her highness was so addicted to the piano that she hardly spent any time ruling at all. That… would explain the skyrocketing crime rates and criminal organizations that found themselves in the streets of her kingdom. Not only was it extremely life-threatening to roam the towns at night, but it was also harboring the infamous Kuzuryuu clan. The organization that killed his parents. He couldn’t really help but harbor a grudge against her highness.

“Nagito.” Kirumi pressed, and Nagito blinked, shaken out of his daze.

“Yes?” He snapped back to respond.

“It is my duty to fulfill and respect all of the king’s wishes.” 

“...What do you mean by that, Kirumi?”

“It is my duty to fulfill and respect all of the king’s wishes.” Kirumi repeated, reluctance lacing her tone as she continued. What could she possibly be talking about? The aura in the air was heavy, oppressive, as if Kirumi was about to disobey that line of duty. It excited Nagito to no end. “However… there are a select few times where to support the king as best I can, I must intervene.” The maid said this in a hushed tone, as if it were for Nagito’s ears only. Intervene? How so? He tilted his head, curious, egging her on. “And I am afraid that right now his highness is being rather immature.”

“You mean--” Nagito started eagerly, but Kirumi silenced him with a finger to his mouth. She pulled back and scratched her chin in thought, wondering what she would say next. Nagito wondered what she might say next too. 

“The king’s room has a very sturdy door, one that he cannot break down without a lot of effort. He made it that way so that no one, no matter the intention, would be able to interrupt him when it was locked. I am allowed the key for severe emergencies. The king does not usually tend to bother leaving a key in there as he hasn’t locked it in a year and a half.” She mused, leaving Nagito confused as to what the door had to do with all of this. “So… if after you helped me clean, you and a certain butler named ‘Kuro’ just so happen to be locked in there with no key… and possibly have a chance to sort out your problems alone, would you refrain from telling anyone that I had any involvement in it whatsoever?”

Oh. 

Was Kirumi trying to… connive with him? Was she saying that she would create a situation where he and Izuru could be alone to sort out their issues? He… he.. didn’t know what to say. To think that she would do something that risked her entire career, just like that, for someone so undeserving was… amazing. Kirumi truly was such a respectable person. Obviously she’d never really gone against the king severely before, seeing as her plan was rather flawed, but it was fine. To direct Izuru’s suspicions away from her, he could just claim that the door being locked was a simple bout of luck. It wasn’t that unbelievable, seeing as the doorknob had broken during one of their times in the library.

“Of course not! I wouldn’t say a word.” He winked, earning a polite smile from Kirumi. He supposed they must be in cahoots, now.

“Very well.” 

\---

After immaculately cleaning the third ballroom, he and Kirumi were on their way to Izuru’s bedroom, and Nagito had a skip in his step. He’d been waiting for an opportunity like this for months, and now it had finally come to him. He was going to encounter Izuru, ask the questions that needed to be answered, and end this on some kind of note, whether it be good or bad. The confidence slowly building inside him practically dissipated though, soon replaced by the nervous excitement of how he was going to be talking to the king in the first place. It had been so, so, long… he was excited to hear the voice addressing him again.

“Ahem.” Kirumi whispered, gently into his ear. That was his signal to enter, but not exactly… conventionally. After all, he couldn’t just waltz into Izuru’s bedroom without looking weird, especially after they both hadn’t talked in a month. So, he started walking by and… Kirumi tripped him. She was surprisingly good at it, swiftly using her foot to knock Nagito in the bedroom and cause the door to shut close at the same time. Him clattering to the floor blocked out the noise of it being locked, and he brushed his palms off on the carpet from the impact. 

Once he finally managed to sit himself up, green met red and his eyes widened when he realized Izuru was looking at him. Nagito shifted back against the wall, nervous from the other’s piercing gaze, wondering how he’d ever confront the king himself. He didn’t have much time to think, however, for Izuru was slowly and steadily approaching, step by step, finally acknowledging him after all this time. 

“How did you manage to fall in here?” Izuru asked, and Nagito let out a breath of relief at his choice in words. ‘Fall’ told him that Izuru had seen him on a trip, nothing more, nothing less. If anything, he couldn’t let his highness be aware of Kirumi’s involvement. If something like that happened and she got fired… he would curse himself to the ends of the earth. 

He stands up, but realizing how close in proximity their faces are to each other, stumbles back on the carpet and falls back down again. Everything became a blur after that, but the result was not favorable for their encounter.

...it happens something like this. 

He stumbles back, bumping into a table which legs suddenly collapse upon him, and the flat wood surface comes crashing down. One of the legs flies like a bird in the air, heading straight for Izuru’s face as Nagito lets out a yelp, worried for the other’s safety. However, the king dodges it swiftly, letting the bedside table’s leg crash into the wall, cracking it like a fragile vase and inserting itself into the flat surface. The room vibrates at the impact, and one of the candles latched in metal to the wall starts nearing the edge. Nagito ran to catch it, accidentally bumping into Izuru, who was trying to do the same. The candle wax splashes onto the ground as the entire carpet begins burning, a small flickering flame slowly spreading itself throughout the room, and creeping up the legs of the bed.

Oh, dear.

Smoke starts to fuel throughout the air, flooding Nagito’s senses, and black spots begin to speckle his peripheral vision. He must truly be weak, because the flame has only just started devouring the room, smoke not even beginning to be produced yet. Izuru is standing just as calmly as normal, aside from the fact that he is holding his breath, using a single hand to cover his mouth and nose.

Black hair flashes past as Izuru reached for the doorknob, and turned it with a fierce hand. It breaks. The extent of the bad luck which has just occurred… is certainly extreme. 

“Bad.... luck…” is all Nagito manages to shout to Izuru before he passes out.

\---

When he wakes up, he still smells smoke mixed in with the fresh air coming from the open window. Izuru is hovering above him, a deadpan face filling his vision. He’s about to smile at the beautiful red eyes, when suddenly his memory shoots through him and he shoots up with a jerk, starting to hyperventilate and look around the room with visible panic.

The fire? Where’s the fire? It was burning, it was burning, where’s the FIRE?

“I put it out, if you were wondering.” Izuru stares off into the distance after he sits up, placing a hand on his chin in deep thought. The last time he saw Izuru wearing an expression like that… was when they fought. It does suit him though, the introspective look, gazing off into the distance. Nagito can’t help but stare shamelessly. 

“if my luck doesn’t make up for itself soon, perhaps the castle might even burn down. And wouldn’t that be fun.” Izuru repeats, and Nagito flinches at his own words from a month ago. He had said them in his destructive daze back when he confronted Izuru about all those truths. “You truly are a peculiar man, Nagito Komaeda.”

The ash falls around them and Nagito tries to shake the smell of smoke from his nose. He instead begins hoarsely laughing at Izuru’s comment. And although his lungs are aching like they want to explode, and his chest is heaving heavily, he raises his voice to respond. “Peculiar, indeed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The boys are finally back together, what kind of crazy shenanigans will they get into?
> 
> Just kidding. Izuru doesn't really do that. The whole crazy shenanigans thing, yknow.


	16. Warm holds and 'Mothers'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagito and Izuru encounter two guests to the palace who arrived earlier than they were supposed to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, yeah, it's been a while. I don't wanna rewrite everything I put in the beginning of the fic notes, so please read those to understand this-- weird hiatus thing. You should be able to find it if you click to chapter one. I hope you enjoy this chapter though!

  
  
  


“I apologize.”

“What?”

Nagito glanced over to Izuru, who had just spoken those words. He couldn’t really understand how any of the fire was Izuru’s fault, as it was none other than his own. So what might he be apologizing for? It was hard to get a clear grasp of the situation with the smoke still settling in his lungs. Was there a window in here? He glanced around, only to find that the answer was no. All the while, Izuru seemed to be breathing perfectly fine, lung capacity outstretching his own. He was standing in the corner of the room, checking a couple books to make sure that they weren’t ruined in the fire.

Izuru glanced at him from under long strands of messed up hair, closing the book he was holding shut and turning to face him. “I apologize for being childish. Ignoring you was… in retrospect… only a choice that an imbecile would make.” Those words truly felt so strange coming out of his mouth.

“I-- if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me!” He quickly snapped back, trying to stop himself from rambling on before Izuru got bored. “I turned it up to eleven, back then! Ahahaha! I tend to… snap if not kept on a leash.” He scratched at his arms, glancing to the ground as he giggled. Izuru seemed to disagree, but didn’t speak up about it. 

“I think that only makes you all the more captivating.” the king’s lips twitched up, and for a mere moment Nagito selfishly wondered if he was trying to smile. The expression soon fell from his face, replaced with the same one as he had been used to seeing since he got here. “Your so-called outburst made you the most entertaining thing in the palace, and even past that I still ignored you. A bad decision on my part.” He adjusted his tie and beckoned Nagito to come with him, causing Nagito to notice the scrapped up and repaired doorknob at the entrance. 

He tried to stand up, immediately falling back down as his lungs stretched uncomfortably. He figured a good amount of smoke had made its way into his pathetically weak lungs on his way, and decided to cause him trouble. He really shouldn’t let that show in front of his king, though, so he stood up again, managing to keep steady for about five seconds. And then he fell back down again, this time not hitting the ground as hard as he had the last time.

In retrospect, he actually hadn’t hit the ground at all. 

This time he fell right into the grasp of Izuru Kamukura himself, an arm around his back and legs, carrying him to the door. He frantically waved his arms at the realization, but, luckily, didn’t fall out a third time. Izuru’s hair shifted gently beside him, tickling his warm, crimson cheek. “You’re clearly not in a state to be walking right now, but you’ll be better after a day or two.” And then the king began walking in an entirely different direction than his room or the medical center, leaving Nagito generally confused.

“U-Um! I think we’re going in the wrong direction, my room is in the throne room, remember?” he laughed, pointing in said room’s direction. Izuru stopped in his tracks, not even looking down to Nagito as he spoke. 

“Oh.” Izuru said out of the blue. “I was planning to carry you around with me wherever I go. Would you prefer to be dropped off at your room instead?” He droned on as apathetic as always, which was a stark contrast to how those words made Nagito question his entire existence. 

All Nagito could bring himself to do was nod nervously and worry about what the hell was happening. “As long as it’s not a bother, I don’t mind. But...why?” He started nervously shaking his hand through his wrist as he glanced up at Izuru, who still hadn’t used his own eyes to give Nagito any attention at all. The king had been acting strange ever since they woke up from the fire, as if he’d swallowed his pride so fast that he’d choked on it. Many a what-if started forming in his head when met with silence, wondering if Izuru was trying to swoon him back into believing that the king wanted to marry him. What if Izuru was just putting on Kuro’s polite facade? What if he was DREAMING? 

“You did something to prove that you’re not as boring as I originally deemed you.” Was, however, the answer to the impending question though, which Izuru provided somewhat surprisingly honestly. “Not as if I wish for you to continue bottling your feelings to get your mental health to that point, but when you revealed the truths you knew to me, it showed that you were more intuitive and smart than the average. That perhaps it would be worth the time that I spend doing the same thing to try something, or rather someone, new.” He noted, and Nagito felt a selfish tingle of unstoppable happiness ring through his heart.

“You are still on thin ice, however.” Izuru’s footsteps slowed down a bit, and finally green eyes met red. Nagito just smiled and chuckled out of habit, still freshly stumped by such unusually kind words he’d just been offered. He could understand that, at the very least. In fact, Izuru’s realistic view was rather refreshing compared to the attitude of others. 

\---

“Not to be rude, but you seriously can’t expect me to carry on a decent conversation with you when you still haven’t explained why fucking Nagito has been carried around by you all day!” Fuyuhiko yelled, and Nagito gave a little wave from where he was. It was naturally awkward having all those concerned stares directed at him throughout the hallway, but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been victim to those stares before. And the ridicule he’d get later was nothing in consequence to the heavenly feeling of being in the king’s arms.

Seeing as Izuru wasn’t giving a response, Nagito decided to propose something to quell Fuyuhiko’s anger. “I’m a little unable to stand by myself now, but if you’ll just set me down on that chair over there, you two can carry on your meeting without me being disruptive.” He gestured his head towards the armchair conveniently laying in the room, and looked up at Izuru, almost as if asking for confirmation. The king nodded and placed him down in it, brushing off his suit and turning back to Fuyuhiko, who gave a snort and rolled his eyes. 

“As I was saying before,” Izuru started, “Fuyuhiko, you will be in charge of the group of guards that will escort her highness Kaede Akamatsu. The king wants you to pick them out by hand because we can only spare three for that troupe with how busy the castle is right now.” 

“But Kuro, won’t that make the throne room vulnerable? I should be stationed right there with Juzo!” Fuyuhiko scowled, stretching an arm out in defiance. Nagito wondered if Fuyuhiko had always been this aware of the strengths and weak points with the guards spread around the palace, or if it had come from Sakakura’s wisdom. “ Me along with our BEST guards are stationed there, and with only Juzo to protect--”

“Juzo Sakakura is plenty capable on his own.” The other cut Fuyuhiko off sharply, causing him to glare. “I place my full trust in him to guard the king.” The king himself continued, and Nagito didn’t doubt him for a moment. The king surely didn’t doubt himself either, with that confident look in his eyes. 

“You know what? Fine. Whatever. Just don’t blame me if the king dies.” Fuyuhiko spat, then immediately placed a hand over his mouth as if regretful. Nagito suspected it was likely because those very words could be considered treason. Izuru didn’t seem to mind, though, nodding and waving Fuyuhiko off with a flick of his wrist. And then as the blonde left, he was hoisted up again, back in his stronghold of safety, within the safe, strong hold of the king’s arms. It felt weird, being carried gently, and while the occasional confused stare wasn’t out of the norm anymore, he couldn’t help but feel like he didn’t deserve to be there. Although, it wasn’t really in his right to complain as he didn’t belong in the palace in the first place. 

“So, Kuro, where to next?” He said, sighing in relief that he remembered to use the king’s alias this time. He had been forgetting with every encounter, always having to correct himself midway. ‘Kuro’ slowed his pace as if in thought, finally providing him with an answer.

“I need to talk to Kirumi about a few things.” Izuru continued walking as fast as he had before, the shimmering tile of the floor newly mopped and, dare he say without sounding like a child, squeaky clean. 

Something felt off, though. Not as if he wasn’t glad that the king had opted to oblige with his selfish request and spend more time with him, but it felt like there was still a large wall standing in the way. And it hadn’t been constructed because of the king’s apathetic attitude towards everything, not even his luck. He couldn’t tell what it was no matter how hard he tried, but all he knew was that he didn’t deserve to be here. In this position. He didn’t deserve to be in the arms of someone so magnificent when he was someone so foul. He didn’t deserve to delve in such an oddly warm location, or feel this safe in the arms of someone he barely knew. What he deserved was to die right here, where it was so warm, so safe, where he felt so…

\---

“HOLY SHIT, THIS YOUR BOYFRIEND!?” rang a boisterous voice, startling him awake and knocking the wind out of him. Above him hovered three blurry figures, one blocky and the other… almost vibrating from exhilaration? The final silhouette he could just about recognize as Izuru, as distinct as it was. He sat up, forehead accidentally colliding with the excited silhouette. It hurt on impact, but the pain was really only temporary.

“Ow, what the hell? Watch where you’re putting that clunky head of yours!”

Izuru suddenly spoke up from where he was watching. “Let him alone, Miu Iruma. No, we are not romantically involved.” Nagito disheartened a little at the plain truth, giggling absentmindedly to himself and raising a restless hand to thread through his hair. Miu Iruma… where had he heard that name before? It was on the tip of his tongue, something he’d known about for a while. Wait.

Suddenly not feeling sluggish or tired anymore, Nagito leaped out of his spot on the bed and in close proximity to the scientist’s face. “You’re Miu Iruma! Nagito Komaeda, a huge fan, it’s wonderful to meet you! You’re an inspiration to my entire home kingdom of Jabberwock!” He reached out a hand to shake, which, in contrast to the scientist’s attitude, was met with a nervous, sweaty one. 

“A-a fellow Jabberwockie, I see!” She stuttered out, flushed and noticeably quieter than before. Nagito just smiled and let the sparkles flow through his eyes and metaphorically transfer to the air. The idol shunned back over to Izuru, cowering behind him and clutching his shoulders. She was brushed off quickly, Izuru instead opting to transfer to another corner of the room without saying a word. She chased after him again, but a stiff arm shifted in front of her, preventing the girl from finding her way to the king. 

Nagito practically leaped over to the owner of said arm, laughing hysterically at the appearance and looked the person over up and down. He held out a hand in a similar fashion as before, stretching his fingers and greeting the assistant with a smile. “Hello, you must be Keebo! I’ve heard a lot about you, it’s nice to finally have an opportunity to find out the secrets behind your structure. Sorry, did that come off as too creepy? I tend to scare people off for as many times as I’ve been called carefree.” He chuckled, and Keebo shaked his hand a little rougher than expected, though it didn’t appear as if it was on purpose. 

“Yes, I am Miu’s assistant, Keebo. It is also nice to meet you. Your creepiness levels are not anything I feel could particularly put me in danger.” The other stated, almost robotic, and Nagito was taken aback by the inflection in his voice. 

Izuru spoke up from his corner, where he’d been standing, slightly impatient, while Nagito gushed over the two fantastic people. “If you’ll leave Nagito alone, Miu Iruma, we have important things to discuss and I am fully aware that you get distracted very easily. Nagito, you’re free to do what you will the rest of today and tomorrow, as I’ll be busy with important guests.” He nodded, mildly aware of the disbelief showing on Miu’s face. Why did she look so upset with the king? He didn’t believe she had any reason to take offense from the king’s words. 

“Shit, Izuru! So you’re telling me you’re on first-fucking-name-without-the-last-name basis with ‘Nagito’ and your maid side hoe but not your own mother!? I should be offended but the fact that you got attached to him so quickly is so like you, bahahahaha!” Miu laughed, and Nagito almost delved into an existential crisis. Mother? No, Miu was much too young, and Izuru was…?? In his twenties!? Not to mention that Miu had just used the king’s real name. Was she one of the trusted few that knew his identity? Did she find out the secret on her own? The obnoxious girl noticed his visible confusion and promptly continued laughing until tears had formed in her eyes and were spilling out. 

“I suppose since you’ve blurted it out I’ll have to explain now.” Izuru walked over to Nagito, looking to Miu and then back to him. “But you  _ must  _ keep this an absolute secret. Swear it.” He looked at Nagito expectantly, not so commanding as he seemed, just a sliver, nervous. Of course. Of course he would keep it a secret. He was half tempted to say ‘I’d do anything you asked of me’ but he wasn’t sure if it was the right time.

“You have my word.” Is what he instead opted to say, holding out his hand, wondering if Izuru would do him the pleasure of shaking it. The king did, an almost trusting yet skeptical look in his eye as they shook hands and the other two presences in the room merely looked at them. 

Izuru began slowly, but surely. “You have already noticed that I am abnormally more adept than others, and when I say that there is not a touch of narcissistic motives behind it.” Nagito nodded in agreement. “This is because I am partially artificial… odd though it may seem or sound, I am actually the product of drunk experimentation.” Miu started cowering, sheepish and guilty. “This scientist had an appointment with this body’s original owner, but had too much to drink beforehand. So, rather than a tame experience, I suppose that he-- that my original owner had a crazy… ‘mad scientist’ experience, per say. The result was me. Because she is my creator,” Izuru mumbled quickly to the side “--not that she remembers how she created me--” he continued on track. “Miu Iruma tends to consider herself my mother. I do not feel as if she owns any such maternal role in my life. She sold me to the kingdom when they were in need of an heir because of my peculiar talents. There. Now you know.” He remained silent after that. 

Nagito took a few minutes to put the pieces together while Miu nervously fawned over her ‘son.’ So, with that in mind, Hajime Hinata must be the original owner of Izuru’s body! He was aware from Hajime that him and Izuru communicated through letters when they each took their separate turns in Izuru’s body, but from what he heard it was as if Izuru wanted to keep Hajime a secret. He wondered why. It also explained why an heir mysteriously appeared when Chiaki Nanami passed away at a young age. The mystery was coming together, and it almost made him feel ecstatic. 

Nagito tuned in to the bickering going on between the three other people in the room, wondering what it was all about. The first voice he heard clearly was Miu’s. “Oh yeah!? W-well suck it, because I made a better version of you when I was sober! Show em, Keebo!” She pointed with a shaky hand at Keebo, who was nervously smiling as if he didn’t want to be a part of the fight that was taking place. Keebo shook his head, but Miu seemed furiously and yet nervously stubborn at the same time, coaxing him to show off with her shaky eyes alone. 

“If you say so… hello!” Keebo held out his hand to Izuru, who shot a skeptical glance up and down the assistant, not yet taking it. “I’m happy to meet you! I am Keebo, Miu Iruma’s assistant. It is, to be honest, really exciting to meet my prototype. Though your lack of enthusiasm disappoints and, well, saddens me, I hope we can get along!” The greeting was simply, but out of the corner of his eye, Nagito noticed that Izuru seemed somewhat distressed. Was it the lack of enthusiasm part? The Izuru he knew wouldn’t have taken that to heart, so it must’ve been under the surface. He didn’t have time to figure it out though, as Izuru took Keebo’s hand and shook it only briefly, pulling away and closing his eyes. 

“Miu Iruma, take your assistant outside with you and go to the designated meeting place. I’ll be there after I check in with Kirumi about one more thing in preparation for an important guest.” His voice was almost brash, but still rather emotionless as usual. Nagito was curious, though, as to why Izuru’s eyebrows were so furrowed. Not even just curious, but quite worried too. What could’ve caused the slight change in the heir’s facial expression? 

With a complaint from Miu and a salute from Keebo, the strange duo was gone out the door. Izuru silently nodded to Nagito and began to head towards the doorknob himself, but right as the king got his hand on it Nagito took a leap of faith and said, a little above a whisper-- “wait.” He breathed.

Izuru flipped around, eyes narrowing and suddenly defensive. Was he right, then? Was something bothering his king after that encounter? Either way, he supposed he’d just leave his luck to do the trick, and if he failed, then at least he tried, right? “Is something wrong? Not that I doubt you or want to accuse or assume but… You’re acting a little different than usual.” He attempted to stop himself from rambling off, after all, he was trying to focus on the king right now. 

He didn’t even realize that such a miracle was possible, or that an expression so gentle could rest on a face, but by some freaky chance, Izuru’s face softened gradually as he stared at the albino, a long strand of black hair falling in his face that he didn’t bother to brush off. He turned away from the door, facing Nagito, taking in breaths that felt a little off for some strange reason. 

Izuru spoke when Nagito was about to interrupt the silence, planning to say how a worthless nobody like him didn’t deserve to be asking such questions. “I… what I say in this room doesn’t leave it. Swear it to me.”

He held out his hand for Nagito to shake. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you think it's kinda cute that  
> Nagito  
> Died  
> In the kings arms out of nowhere that night...
> 
> For clarification, Nagito did not actually die. Just me being obsessed with mother mother, don't mind me


End file.
